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Theater Review - The Birds

 

            On Sunday, November 25th, 2012, I had the (what I'd thought would be a pleasure) gloom of seeing a rendition of Conor McPherson's "The Birds"". .
             "The Birds is playing at the Mosaic Theatre in Plantation, Florida November 16th through December 9th, 2012. It stars Equity Actors Kim Cozort, who plays Diane, and Kenneth Kay, who plays Nat. Vera Varlamov plays the feisty and troubled (yet tiresome) Julia, and Kevin Reilley portrays the spastic and creepy Tierney. John Manzelli was the director of this production of "The Birds"", and the original script was written by Conor McPherson.
             While I had extremely high hopes before seeing the play (being a diehard Hitchcock fan and avid 1960's horror/thriller film fanatic), the performance quickly became something I had to endure rather than enjoy. Inspired by Daphne Du Maurier's praised short story, and Hitchcock's famed thriller loosely based on the story, "The Birds " is a psychological thriller set in an abandoned, dark house, isolated from help. The three (and later four when Tierney makes a quick appearance) strangers seem to be the last living human beings in the area, but their condition is rapidly deteriorating. These strangers, with little electricity, food, and medical supplies, are forced to live together as they shelter themselves from the continuous waves of savage flesh-eating birds that surround them. .
             Supposedly a gripping tale, I found that it completely flopped half way through. While the actors did improve as they dropped into their roles and energy levels--especially Kim Cozort, who plays Diane. She began with a very stereotypical portrayal of fear, then became more believable and comfortable in the role. However, besides the gradual improvement of the acting and energy, the play's start was corny and over dramatized and continued being so. .
             The theme revolves around human nature in times of extreme stress and pressure.


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