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Review – “The Birds” at Main Stage West in Sebastopol

Before attempting to explain what

It begins with a man and a woman, Nat (Nick Sholley) and Diane (Liz Jahren), taking refuge from the birds in an abandoned New England Farm House. Nat is in the throes of some illness, so Diane nurses Nat back to health. Together they map out a plan for survival. Not knowing if there’s a world to return to, they begin to settle into sort of a domestic arrangement when the balance of that arrangement is set askew by the arrival of Julia (Rae Quintana) and a visit from a “neighbor” (Anthony Abaté). Soon, the birds may become the least of their problems when it comes to their survival.

The Birds is a challenging mixture of horror, thriller and character study. It’s an oddly constructed piece with some scenes lasting only seconds and others seeming to jump in time past significant action. The play’s structure works against it as a sense of dread or danger was often dissipated by the requirement of having the cast rearrange the set or move prop pieces. Still, it does manage to have a couple of nice jolts in it.

What The Birds has going for it is an excellent cast and MSW’s naturally claustrophobic setting. Nick Sholley (last seen at MSW in A Steady Rain) brings another seriously flawed, slightly unhinged character to vivid life. Liz Jahren is very good in the role of Diane, effectively playing a character who starts out as bedrock of sense and purpose but who eventually crumbles under the pressure, both real and imagined. Rae Quintana’s Julia is a character of many shades and quite possibly shady. Anthony Abaté has the least amount of stage time, but that time is memorable.

Director Elizabeth Craven doubles as Set Designer and, as I have come to expect from Main Stage West, she packs a lot of set into its relatively small space. While the interior of the house takes up the complete stage, a sense of depth and the outside world is achieved through lighting and especially by Doug Faxon’s sound design. Nary a feather is seen on stage, but the birds – aurally - are omnipresent.

McPherson’s plays (Shining City, The Seafarer) often have a supernatural or spiritual component to them. One might assume that the use of du Maurier’s original concept of the destruction of the human race by birds would fit that bill but, as I alluded to in the opening paragraph, I think it actually goes a bit deeper.

At its core, what McPherson presents in his adaptation is the story of a man and woman, possibly the only humans on earth. Their (relatively) idyllic existence is challenged by temptation in the form of Julia. The seeds of mistrust are sown by the appearance of a Mephistophelian neighbor. That mistrust leads to actions that result in their leaving (or self-banishment from) the comfort and safety of their surroundings.

Could it be that Conor McPherson’s The Birds is a very twisted retelling of the Book of Genesis and Adam and Eve?

The Birds

Presented by Main Stage West

Thurs – Sat @ 8pm, Sun @ 5pm through April 23

Thursday performances are “pay-what-you-will”.

(707) 823-0177

www.mainstagewest.com

Photos by Eric Chazankin

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