Stupid F**king Bird

New Theatre Stupid Fucking BirdA classic tale of unrequited love, missed opportunities and lost dreams, New Theatre presents the Sydney premiere of Aaron Posner’s Stupid F**king Bird – an irreverent and hilarious remix of Chekhov’s The Seagull – currently playing until 28 July 2018.

An aspiring young director rages against the art created by his mother’s generation. A young actress vies with an aging Hollywood star for the affections of a renowned novelist. And everyone discovers just how disappointing love, art, and growing up can be.

Bitingly contemporary, tantalizing and engaging, revealing the danger in our own desires, Stupid F**king Bird is complete with songs, pitches young against old, past against present, to ask the age-old question: how far will we go in pursuit of happiness?

Angsty, raw, and real, American playwright Aaron Posner’s clever update asks the big questions about what it means to be a creative artist.

Making his New Theatre directorial debut, NIDA MFA directing graduate Warwick Doddrell says “Posner has brought a contemporary language to the stage with incredible authenticity, examining a world of social media, instant gratification and expectation – where there are set paths laid in the stone for us to follow.”

“The play is a fast-paced, funny and deeply painful revelation of the longing at the heart of the contemporary west,” he continues. “There’s a rollicking loose energy and a sense of impatience, of ‘get-on-with-it’ embedded within the piece, but it’s also very open and honest in its investigation of the creative life.”

Aaron Posner is a Helen Hayes and Barrymore Award-winning director and playwright from Washington DC. His adaptations include: Chaim Potok’s The Chosen and My Name Is Asher Lev (the latter ran for ten months off-Broadway in 2012-2013 and won both the Outer Circle Critics Award for Best New off-Broadway play and the John Gassner Award).

Additional credits include: Ken Kesey’s Sometimes a Great Notion, Mark Twain’s A Murder, A Mystery, and a Marriage, an adaptation of three Kurt Vonnegut short stories, entitled Who Am I This Time? (and other conundrums of love). Stupid F**king Bird received eight Helen Hayes nominations in addition to the Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical.

“sharply contemporary and brashly funny…makes us view the original with fresh, startled eyes.” – New York Times

Director: Warwick Doddrell Featuring: Lloyd Allison-Young, Gil Balfas, Brendan Miles, Mansoor Noor, Megan Smart, Annie Stafford, Kaitlyn Thor Set Designer: Jeremy Allen Costume Designers: Ellen Stanistreet, Jane Hughes Assistant Costume Designer: Kelsey Lee Lighting Designer: Veronique Benett Sound Designers/Composers: Ben Pierpont, Mary Rapp Movement Director: Shy Magsalin Music Director: Bryce Halliday Original Songs: Jim Fishwick Production Manager: Aaron Cornelius Stage Manager: Rachel Guest Assistant Stage Manager/Set Builder: Dave Angelico Assistant Stage Managers: Danielle Brown, Lilly Aggio Operators: Ricci Costa, Sean Gunn

Stupid F**king Bird
New Theatre, 542 King Street, Newtown
Season continues to 28 July 2018
Information and Bookings: www.newtheatre.org.au

Image: courtesy of New Theatre