The Birds

"A listless production...As directed by Stefan Dzeparoski, this interpretation from the Toronto-based Birdland Theater generates nary a ripple of suspense...The subliminal dread that Mr. McPherson elicits so hauntingly in his other works remains buried deep here, failing to surface even when characters threateningly pick up hammers...The sum effect suggests Rod Serling, the creator of the 'Twilight Zone' series, unhappily moonlighting as a soap opera scenarist." Full Review

"Dzeparoski's production comes off as neither sexy nor scary, two things that it desperately wants to be (despite the appearance of both full-frontal nudity and hazy fog effects to attempt to set the mood on both ends). Similarly, the acting is strangely detached throughout...The lack of tension isn't their entire fault though; it's not very present in McPherson's script, either. 'The Birds' simply stays caged, when it really needs is to take flight." Full Review

"Irish playwright Conor McPherson bleeds out all suspense and transforms it into a soporific meditation on the psyches of post-apocalyptic survivors. Long before the seemingly endless play wraps up, you'll be wishing the damn birds would finish the job already...The play plods from one numbingly dull scene to the next, displaying none of the playwright's usual gift for evoking tension. As if aware of how little there is to work with, director Stefan Dzeparoski resorts to mild shock tactics." Full Review

"While many people may recall the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock horror movie by the same name, this play is a standout, a thriller in its own right with intriguing characters, intense dialogue and its own suspenseful storyline. Performed in an intimate theatre space, the play features excellent staging and a talented cast. It will keep you on the edge of your seat...'The Birds' is a stark and compelling view of human desperation in the face of dire circumstances." Full Review

"Even a brilliant playwright can have an off day, but this NYC premiere is so shabbily conceived and executed, it’s hard to know where to place the blame...This humorless, generic script feels like a first draft, halfway to a screenplay, not delving enough into the characters’ twisted emotions...Any weaknesses in the text are severely exacerbated by Stefan Dzeparoski’s clunky, low-budget, barely designed production. The actors struggle valiantly." Full Review

"It is probable that Mr. McPherson’s adaptation might be chilling in a post-September 11, 2011 world; unfortunately, it is difficult to make that determination based on this Birdland production...The problem with Mr. Dzeparoski’s staging is that it leaves the audience unmoved, unconcerned about any of the characters under attack in the abandoned house...The lack of success of this production lies squarely at the feet of the director, whose vision of McPherson’s script remains a mystery." Full Review

"It was not clear where characters were going to, or coming from, when they exited or entered the stage. Several important plot points rest on those distinctions. Although the actors do a good job of portraying the frustration, fear, mistrust and occasional boredom of their situation, because the lack of visual cues, the tension of the continuing menace is simply not there. The play becomes an intellectual exercise rather than a visceral experience in fear and empathy." Full Review

“In Konstantin Roth’s scenic design, the audience sits in the four corners of the tiny black box at 59E59 Theaters with the action taking place in front and around them. As a result the audience is extremely close to the action. Unfortunately, director Dzeparoski has the actors give very broad performances which seem rather hammy up close. Ien DeNio’s sound design includes the intermittent cawing of the birds and their attacks on the window and the walls but are not heard often en... Full Review

"If you’re looking for a stage adaption of the suspense-driven movie, you won’t find a trace of it here. That’s both a plus and a minus. The plus is that this version is much more thought-provoking. But what it gains in intellectual stimulation it loses in creepiness and suspense...The strongest element in the production is Antoinette LaVecchia’s brilliant performance. She prevents the play from devolving into hysteria with her cool-headed commitment to survive." Full Review

"Dzeparoski has selected a compelling script that's well suited to the three company members...The three actors handle with aplomb the challenges of performing in the round...This physical intimacy draws the spectator especially near...and it heightens the production's sense of apocalyptic horror to an unsettling degree...McPherson's new, triangular narrative reflects the fragmented fears of latter-day perils such as random acts of terrorism, climate change, and emergent viruses." Full Review

"Naumovski is excellent as the troubled hero...LaVecchia assumes the most rational role and yet at the end she proves ruthless; and Hutchinson-Shaw invests the high-spirited Julia with both immaturity and deceit. Dzeparoski keeps the atmosphere dark...But the director also tacks on a wordless coda that muddles the ending..Still, if you attend without the expectation of screaming, you’ll find this character study fascinating and unsettling." Full Review

"In compressing the novelette into a three-character play...McPherson eliminates much of du Maurier’s deeper insights, failing to create a crescendo of horror and dread. This oversight yields 'The Birds' curiously bland...McPherson’s text may be problematic, but the choices made in this production of the play hinder rather than enhance. BirdLand Theater’s 'The Birds' isn’t exactly for the birds, but only narrowly skirts laying an egg." Full Review

"The staging is hell-bent on claustrophobia and assisted in the main by visual and audio effects...Some of the effects are distracting...The actors are at their best in the celebratory or confrontational scenes where the effects are absent or minimal. McPherson is a master of his craft and with this play, the able-bodied text dictates simplicity. This is a flawed production that nevertheless possesses moments of genuinely affecting suspense." Full Review

"Audiences with a taste for suspense and psychological turmoil will find much to enjoy...The three actors do excellent work to place their characters on the precarious edge between communal strength and psychological turmoil...But the experience frequently suffers as a result of the seating arrangement...The tight, shared space accentuates the play’s themes nicely, but in this case doing so comes at a cost of audience experience." Full Review

"The premise of 'The Birds' offers a great opportunity to explore environmental and political conflict, examining the collapse of the environment and the economy, but, under Stefan Dzeparoski’s direction, any kind of conflict is disappointingly tepid. Rather than an exploration of the impact of a contemporary apocalypse, the play presents a weak love triangle…While the 'The Birds' certainly presents claustrophobia, misguided symbolism and boredom are also served in equal doses." Full Review