Type – Monodrama, Gothic
If you liked – The Turn of the Screw, An Iliad, The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin
The Birds: A substantial and engrossing performance. They came at me like tiny torpedoes…
It can only be reassuring that, in our ongoing angsty debates about the impact of AI slop and LLMs (Large Language Models) on creativity and the arts in general, we can see yet another rich adaptation of a very scant novella, done by humans for humans. Belvoir’s production of The Birds, reprising the Malthouse production last year, is a substantial and engrossing performance, based on a thoughtful and forceful adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s novella published in 1952.
Many people will be familiar with Hitchcock’s film adaptation released in 1963 with Aussie star Rod Taylor in the lead. Put this completely out of your mind if you want to get a sense of the style and progress of this production. Louise Fox has done a fine job of adapting the short story into a monologue for Paula Arundell to devour – more later on her stunning performance. Fox takes a global cli-fi catastrophe, and distils it into a tight, domestic horror-tinged scenario – and isn’t that always how many of the best stories are told? It is immediately relatable and recognisable.
So, to Arundell. She is our sole narrator and renderer of the other characters in the play. She tells the story of the day the birds in her family’s small coastal town (it could be anywhere) inexplicably gather and attack all the humans (in gruesome gory detail – look out). She is a marvellous, natural and highly skilled actor and enraptures the audience for the tight eighty minutes of the play.
Fox’s script is like an extended W.H. Auden poem, in its rhythms, its rolling climaxes and surprising emotionality and even humour, amidst the horror. Arundell does full credit to the language, pacing and character development – it is a true pleasure to watch her performance. Her annunciation and emotional investment imbues the script with a truly human presence.
As to the theatrical experience, director Matthew Lutton uses Kat Chan’s set to full advantage, enabling a dynamic and very physical portrayal of both character and action. There is not a minute wasted as the events unfold before us. Niklas Pajanti’s lighting and J. David Franzke’s sound and composition create a cinematic ‘sensurround’ extravaganza. From the moment we enter the theatre, there is a sensory buzzing that slowly builds to the opening scene, and the all too familiar early morning chirpings of songbird and beachside cries of gulls build to a crescendo of horror that is quite overwhelming. Pajanti’s shafts of white light are particularly effective in depicting the strikes and attacks of the birds on the humans.
Is The Birds Worth Seeing in Sydney?
In 1952, the world thought it had seen the worst of it with WW2 and the dropping of the nuclear bombs in Japan. Out of that sensibility came everything from Godzilla to The Birds. Our worries today about climate, war, disease and ongoing human suffering seem so complex and overwhelming that it can be hard to take a breath and think clearly for a moment.
This production provides a moment and a line of thinking where perhaps we can do so, and even perhaps urge those in power to take action.
Tickets and Practical Info for The Birds in Sydney 🎟️
Belvoir Theatre, Surry Hills
Until 7 June 2026
Tickets: here
By Daphne du Maurier
Starring Paula Arundell
Adapted by Louise Fox
Matthew Lutton, Director
Kat Chan, Set and Costume Designer
Niklas Pajanti, Lighting Designer
J. David Franzke, Composer and Sound Designer
Gideon Cozens, Sound Associate
Rosemary Osmond, Stage Manager
