The Birds

It was a fascinating technical revelation to see how well the evocation of attacking birds could be created for a stage play. The use of video footage of flying seabirds against the back wall of the set, with simultaneous flashing gobo images of birds on the side walls of the auditorium was very effective, especially with the sound effects. Even more effective and certainly more scary was the sound of birds fluttering and pecking against the boarded windows of the house and yet this was created using flapping paper/cardboard, rapid opening and closing of an umbrella and stage hands knocking on the set. The set itself was excellent with significant detailing; a wooden beamed house, several shuttered windows, wood burning stove, mantelpiece, kitchen cupboards, sofa, door to the upstairs, door to outside with small hallway and other large props. The overall effect of the set was to create a cosy yet potentially menacing acting area.

The play itself was curious since my expectations were of a plot in which the attacks of the birds would  become more frenzied throughout and that the stakes would be raised as one character after another succumbed to the physical and mental assault. In reality the bird attacks were fairly consistent in their energy and regularity and avoiding them became a way of life for the characters in the play.  As a result there was some confusion in my mind as to where the plot was leading and Act One didn’t seem to provide much of a platform for Act Two. Only after the play had concluded did it occur to me that Diane’s (well-played by Sara Nower) administering of pills with Nat’s (a strong return to CTW by Greg Whitehead) scotch may have been a deliberate ploy to sedate him long enough to get Julia (a moody performance by Kat Hempstead) permanently out of the way. But why didn’t we hear Julia hammering on the door before the tide came back in and why, if Julia was sleeping with Nat, did she not know that he was upstairs all along? Furthermore, what were the signposts to Diane’s scheming to do away with Julia? Either this was all too subtle for me or there were some curious plot inconsistencies.  This was a shame since the acting was strong and the characterization was well developed in all the actors, with Robin Winder’s Tierney adding a strong catalyst for change in the plot development in Act 2. 

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