Barrington Stage, Pittsfield, MA
through July 8, 2017
by Jarice Hanson
 |
| Photo By Scott Barrow |
First came the 1952 novelette of “The Birds” by Daphne du
Maurier as a metaphor for aerial attacks on England in WWII. Alfred Hitchcock’s
iconic 1963 film has given viewers nightmares for years. Then, in 2009 Conor
McPherson adapted the story for the stage. Each artist crafted the narrative in
very different ways, but the story of nature against humankind remains the
focus. Now, at the St. Germain Stage, you don’t have to wait more than three
minutes to start feeling the creepy sensation of birds ready to attack. I confess to being a fan of
McPherson’s work, and “The Birds” has many of his typical themes; morality,
tension, sexual threat, and religious imagery, but this play is less cerebral
than most of his others. Still, in the hands of Director Julianne Boyd, this
production will have you at the edge of your seat and will make you think about
what the world could become.
Barrington Stage’s production of “The Birds” takes place in
dystopian New England after the world has “shifted course” and the birds
literally come in and go out with the tide. When they’re in—the few remaining survivors take cover for
safety. Three people find themselves taking refuge in a claustrophobic cabin
and have to confront survival as they search for food and come to terms with
their own demons as they attempt to negotiate their own emerging relationships.
Much of the tension in the play is the result of Alex Basco
Koch’s earie projections of birds surrounding the cabin, and David Thomas’s
exceptional sound design that places the audience in the center of the bird
attacks. The cast is strong and believable, but the entrance of Rocco Sisto as
Tierney, a drug-addled farmer who lives across the lake, is particularly bone
chilling, letting the audience know that the threat inside the cabin is
imminent. When he says; “No one ever thought nature was just going to eat us,”
McPherson’s message comes through clearly.
McPherson’s adaptation of the story could easily be seen as
a metaphor for global climate change and the message of Darwinian principles of
survival are juxtaposed with a verse from the Bible, but what I found most
impressive was the way in which the Barrington cast and production team used
the small theatre for maximum impact.
