How much Chekhov is used and recycled by writers and theatre companies? Only marginally less than Shakespeare would be my guess until one mutters under one’s breath “not another stupid f’*íng Chekhov”.
Then Aaron Posner gives us Stupid Fucking Bird and we are glad glad glad a writer has the skill and understanding to take a classic text and reimagine it for a 21st century audience. And a director (Warwick Dodrell) and company (New Theatre) who have the vision and talent to stage it for us. Chekhov was a dramatist who challenged the concept of theatre in his day; Posner and Dodrell takes us back to how magically inventive Chekhov was.
This is a brilliant must-see production which subverts the very notion of theatre. The ensemble of actors moves through a fluid space and sound scape which reminds us at all times that indeed, yes, this is a play. One character tells another he is fictional and the audience won’t really care. But we care because we are treated as intelligent participants in this edgy, funny, highly energetic and compassionate reboot of The Seagull.
Chekhov’s characters still struggle with the selfish question of “why won’t he/she love me?” Con (Mansoor Noor) is a passionate playwright who loves Nina (Megan Smart) who seems to love him back until, starry-eyed, she offers herself to Trig (Gil Balfas), a successful writer dating Con’s mother Emma (Kaitlyn Thor). Mash (Annie Stafford) loves Con who barely registers her existence as she barely registers Dev’s (Lloyd Alison-Young). In the maelstrom of unrequited love is Eugene (Brendan Miles), watching as he deals with his own mortality. Performances are uniformly 
passionate and entrancing; a true ensemble at work.
Opening night saw a few technical hitches which will be, no doubt, quickly ironed out. Some tech cues were a little off and at times, dialogue was delivered so rapidly and quietly that it was lost in the background noise. The only caveat with the set was the light/sound box on stage. Whilst working metaphorically it was cumbersome and awkward and did not seem necessary; the production works wonderfully without it.
It deserves a standing ovation. It won’t get one. You will have to see it to work out why. And see it you must. It is stupidly fucking fabulous.
Kate Stratford – Theatre Now
Stupid Fucking Bird
Aaron Posner
11 – 28 July 2018
Previews (11 & 12 July) 7:30pm
Tuesday – Saturday 7:30pm
Sunday 5pm
Saturday 28 July 2pm only
Venue: New Theatre
Theatre Company: New Theatre
Duration: N/A
“I just want to be loved. madly. dangerously. fully.”
An aspiring young director rages against the art created by his mother’s generation. A young actress vies with an aging Hollywood star for the affections of a renowned novelist. And everyone discovers just how disappointing love, art, and growing up can be.
This irreverent and very funny remix of Chekhov’s The Seagull, complete with songs, pitches young against old, past against present, to ask the age-old question: how far will we go in pursuit of happiness?
Angsty, raw, and real, this adaptation offers a glimpse into the state of the theatrical artform, to ask the big questions about what it means to be a creative artist.
While honoring the spirit of the original, this tale of unrequited love, missed opportunities and lost dreams is bitingly contemporary, tantalizing and engaging, revealing the danger in our own desires.
“Mines The Seagull for classical heft even while giving it the bird” The Washington Post
Director Warwick Doddrell
Set/Costume Designer Jeremy Allen
Ticket Prices
Full $35
Concessions, Groups (6+) $30
New Theatre Members $22
Previews, Thrifty Thursdays $20
School Groups $22
Accompanying teachers free
