Stupid F**cking Bird

A melancholy love story based on Chekhov’s The Seagull, this play satirises our romantic desires and creative passion. American playwright Aaron Posner has turned it into a contemporary tale that explores the intimate emotions of Con and the people in his life. Con, Michael Mack, struggles with an inability to make the woman he loves love him back and to write as well as he wants to. He also has a dysfunctional relationship with his self-absorbed celebrity mother Emma, Carla Bonner.

There is also comic relief, albeit dark humour. Throughout the show the characters break through the invisible “forth wall” and interact with the audience, and they do it with panache. They ask us questions, encouraging us to speak our minds, mocking themselves for being fictional.

Indeed the play demands high calibre performers, and this cast delivers. Cait Spiker as Nina was outstanding when in one of the final scenes, she admits to Con the trauma she suffers. Dylan Watson is charming as the happy-go-lucky yet wise Dev. Hannah Greenwood as Mash and David Ross Paterson as Sorn, Con’s uncle, give their characters a strong sense of self-awareness.

Overall the set was enjoyable. The fake grass and chairs gave the characters enough physical elements to bring each scene to vivid life. I was a little confused by Emma’s home. The cloth-covered kitchen cupboards gave me more the impression of grandma’s pantry than a wealthy actress’ home.

I haven’t read The Seagull but I remember reading Three Sisters in high school. I recall how that play consisted entirely of the characters discussing the exciting events that were happening around them, none of the drama occurred on stage. They spent hours “philosophising” about life. Stupid F**cking Bird certainly has that element of deep reflection, but thankfully there’s more action for us to watch.

Chekhov’s ability to create characters and tell a story implicitly carries through to Posner’s interpretation. Although the characters’ lives and the things they say are somewhat bleak, there is also an element of hope. It seems to hint that, no matter how tortured life can seem, we might all be alright.

Sophia Dickinson

Photographer: Sarah Walker