The Blackbird Theatre Company will present its second show since moving to its highly intimate new home (the SH\aut\ Cabaret and Gallery); and the play in question, Suzan-Lori Parks’ “Topdog/Underdog,” happens to be about two brothers living in cramped quarters.

Art imitating life? Or a company that’s thinking about what shows will work best in the theater’s physical space?

“You always hear people talk about keeping the play on the stage,” said director Lynch Travis. “But we have to think about, when the audience is part of the stage, how do we stay focused? … Throughout the play, we’re in (the brothers’) apartment. The external world’s not there. No one else is there. So it’s partly about, how do you behave at home, when no one is watching?”

The play — which earned Parks a Pulitzer Prize — focuses on two down-and-out, African-American brothers who are fatalistically named Lincoln and Booth.

At the play’s start, Lincoln has abandoned his former life as a crooked three-card monte master (and a husband), moved into Booth’s place, and is working a dead-end job as a Lincoln impersonator at an arcade. Booth, a shoplifter, wants nothing more than to acquire his brothers’ heralded (and now dormant) con-man skills, so he urges Lincoln to share his trade secrets.

And at the heart of it all is the bond that ties them together as brothers — a story as old as Cain and Abel.

“There is almost a kind of biblical quality (to the play),” said Travis, who comes from a family of four brothers himself.

But as the play’s title suggests, a key part of the story involves a struggle for control and power.

“It’s about the roles we have,” said Travis. “Who’s taking care of whom? Is it about age? Am I the leader because I’m older? … And there’s that thing about wanting to be like your brother, and wanting to be with him. But you have to remember, too, that from the time Booth was 11 and Link was 16, it’s been just them. … And that’s the set-up for the fact that now they’re living together, and it’s Booth’s place. Booth makes sure we know that, and that we know he’s king of the roost.”

Travis has never seen a production of “Topdog,” which premiered off-Broadway in 2001, but read the script after it received attention and acclaim.

“I always wanted to be in the show myself, but I’m too old,” said Travis, noting that in the play, the brothers are in their late 20s and early 30s, so he kept that in mind while casting. “We didn’t have a lack of interest, in terms of people wanting to do it, so we just had to figure out who’s out there, who’s ready, who can handle it. … We ended up feeling like we stuck our hands in the cookie jar and got to pick out the flavors we wanted.”

In the end, Ruell Black, who previously appeared in the Blackbird’s productions of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “Patty Hearst,” and Brian Marable, featured in Performance Network’s “Take Me Out,” landed the roles.

Although the show has several funny moments, it also features violence and adult themes and language.

“The show is very gritty,” said Travis. “ … I grew up in the city, and I know people like this. People who basically raised themselves. So the reality of the situation is there, but there’s also this surreal quality. Because as things are revealed, and we see what their motivations are, and we see what their desires are, it takes us to a place where it’s hard for many of us to go on.

"I think it’s a beautifully written play. … I’m totally fascinated by these guys.”

Jenn McKee is the entertainment digital journalist for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at jennmckee@annarbor.com or 734-623-2546, and follow her on Twitter @jennmckee.