The Birds, based on the Daphne DuMaurier short story of the same name and adapted for the stage by Louise Fox, is a collaborative tour de force. Set in a secluded coastal town on a day where birds commence their assault on human kind, this adaptation has been successfully updated and relocated and is Artistic Director Matthew Lutton’s last directorial outing for The Malthouse Theatre.
Told through a sole voice that engages all the characters, the formidable Paula Arundall plays Tessa – a mother, a wife and new inhabitant of a seaside town with her family, escaping the trials of the city and a hinted at troubled past. Her performance is nothing short of perfection. Arundall captures every character – from her troubled husband; the goofy neighbour – Muriel; her two children; and even a mob of conspiracist towns folk, with just the slightest change of voice or physicalisation. She never slips into crass stereotypes but employs a nuanced and layered approach to each which demonstrates the strong collaborative relationship that exists between this actor and Lutton as her director. From her casual and friendly entrance to the stunning finale with the naming of birds, Arundell is mesmerising – her pacing is impeccable and will surely just ameliorate as the season progresses. The highlight is her performing the heartbreakingly grotesque scene where she comes across the lifeless bodies left to rot by the birds. Fox’s narrative entices the audience to weave their own visual interpretation by guiding us to recall those images that daily bombard us from nations ravaged by war especially those images of innocent children and their suffering. Tessa is put into a situation that has her questioning her own morals and code of humanity and asks the audience “What would you do?”
Once in the Beckett Theatre, the audience receive headphones to wear throughout the performance to place us directly in the performer’s domain. At first it was a tad distracting but as we grew accustomed it definitely seemed to keep the audience focused. And though I missed the communal energy of a group of people experiencing this story together, it was refreshing to be able to feel the same isolation that was occurring on stage in real time. The soundscape designed by J. David Franzke was highly evocative and sensory engaging the audience with more complexity whilst aiding the credibility of the narrative premise. The sound design was like an Impressionist painting that was layered, unobvious and quite beautiful.
Kat Chan’s set and costume were realistic, concise and her use of the infrastructure of the Beckett Theatre to create the swarm of birds was just revelatory. Her design was just literal enough for the audience to comprehend but also allowed the use of imagination to create spaces that are pretty universal thus personalising it for ourselves. The set was superbly lit by Niklas Pajanti using lighting to replicate the avian attacks and creating a swarming effect using the lighting rig itself.
If you have ever been swooped by an angry protective magpie, it doesn’t take much imagination to believe this tale.
Collaborative theatre at its best.
