It was with a sense of trepidation that one went to see Stupid Fucking Bird at the Baxter Studio last Saturday. Trepidation because one had no idea what to expect. Yes, I knew it was based on Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, but that it was a modern adaptation, meant to make the work relevant to a new audience.
But how does one adapt one of the best plays ever written and modernise it in a way that does not steal its soul? How does one update the messages of love, lust, betrayal and trying to turn the world into a better place through one’s creativity? Does the message need to be updated? Or will an update ruin an otherwise great play with modern, one could say eternal, messages despite the fact that it was written in 1895 and first produced in 1896?
Added to this was that we saw the play on Saturday evening after viewing a 96-minute documentary about the Rivonia Trialists in the afternoon, which had already sapped by energy. The more important question for me was whether the play was going to be able to keep me awake, and when they announced that it would be two hours long with a 20-minute interval, I knew that I would not be able to keep awake.
I was so pleasantly surprised that, throughout the play, I did not feel tired or yawn once. Maybe it was the tempo of the play, maybe it was the actors, maybe it was the story or the direction?
I suppose it was a little bit of everything.
Stupid Fucking Bird, directed by Swedish director Maria Weisby with a cast of seven, kept everyone engrossed for the entire two-hours and a bit.
The cast consists of Awethu Hleli, Carlo Daniels, Nolufefe Ntshuntshe, Lyle October and Tamzin Daniels (all with The Baxter’s Fire Burning Company), along with Lwanda Sindaphi and Nirel Sithole.
The script, written by award-winning American playwright Aaron Posner, was fast-moving and engaging, the seven actors were believable and moved around with ease on the small Studio stage. It kept me rivetted until the climax at the end when it ended on a cliff-hanger: will he or won’t he?
I don’t really believe in reading too many cryptic messages into plays, but I believe that the play could be a commentary on the state of world today, where warmongers and celebrities vie for attention on the main news channels. The cry for the play to stop at the end could also be seen as a plea for the madness in the world to stop. If only we had a switch where we could switch off what is happening in the Middle East, Ukraine and other parts of the world, including our continent. If only we could return to a world where people do good because it is the right thing to do and not because it is going to earn them hundreds or thousands of likes. If only the world would be more concerned with the needs of the majority instead of the desires of the few. But maybe I am reading too much into a stupid fucking play?
Stupid Fucking Bird is on at the Baxter Studio until 2 May. See it before it is too late, even if you are feeling tired at the time. It might make you think about the world differently.
