Searing, tender performance: ‘Shiner’ takes on tough topic of teen suicide in Helena

Note: This play is rated PG-13. Content warning: Contains suicidal ideation, drug use.

What’s worse than being around an angsty 13-year-old?

Being the angsty 13-year-old.

Everything SUCKS.

At least that’s the loudly proclaimed belief of the two teens in “Shiner,” a play by Christian Durso, staged by Raven’s Feather Productions at the Helena Avenue Theatre through Oct. 1.

Shows are 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, through Saturday, Sept. 30, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 1.

Durso describes the play as ”a grunge rock teen love story within a suicide pact.”

Jake, played by Ryne Sorensen, discovers his growing feelings for Margot, played by Abby Rausch, in “Shiner.”

Ross Peter Nelson

Set in 1994, two outcasts bond over their love for grunge rock and Nirvana. The death of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain casts a pall over the pair’s plans.

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While one teen spirals to the dark side, the other begins to pull out of the pact, sees hope and reaches out to help the other.

“Like most Raven’s Feather productions, the play is an opportunity

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