CurtainUp.com
Monday, August 23, 2010
CurtainUp.com reviews For the Birds in its FringeNYC report.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
For the Birds mentioned on New Jersey News Room's FringeNYC article.
FringeNYC YouTube Channel
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Siobhán talks about the play for the Fringe's YouTube Channel.
Galway News
Thursday, August 5, 2010
For the Birds mentioned on Galway News.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
…This year's UnFringed Festival – the 13th – was a shortened one due to
economic necessity, but what it lacked in length was certainly made up
in diversity and depth.
Over the five days 16 separate productions took place, made up of
theatre, both full productions and rehearsed readings, as well as
comedy and music.
The rehearsed readings are innate to UnFringed and one in particular, Peter Gowen’s The Chronicles of Oggle,
to be produced by Cork based theatre company Corcadorca, was simply
mesmirising, despite being a work in progress. Noted actor Frankie
McCafferty – of Ballykissangel fame, who read what essentially was a 50 minute monologue – was stunning. We await the finished product with interest.
Likewise, the rehearsed reading of For the Birds,
written by Siobhán Donellan and Jen Browne – who worked collaboratively
across the Atlantic – was excellent, with Browne notably standing out
in the piece….
by Alan Owens
For the Birds
Saturday, January 30, 2010
by Rachael Finucane
The first rehearsed reading of Unfringed was on Thursday at Cecil Street. Just in case you’re wondering, a rehearsed reading is basically actors reading aloud from the script. While they’re acting in terms of their voices, in many cases they don’t move around. ‘For the Birds’ is a collaboration between two writers-Siobhán Donnellan (Irish) and Jen Browne (American). Both of them took part in the reading, playing the two main characters.
The story is that one woman has given a child up for adoption and meets up with the adoptive mother 22 years later with the idea of making contact with her son. The play deals with her doomed love story as the lines blurred between a nurse/patient relationship, the unhappy marriage of the couple who adopted her son and the boy’s upbringing and life. They're opposites but with the same aim-finding a lost child. The play had a very sad conclusion but it was still somewhat uplifting, perhaps because of the strength of character radiating from the women themselves. There was an authentic humanity about them and the situation.
While it was odd to hear someone reading the stage directions, it wasn’t hard to follow and the actors all seemed very relaxed and in tune with it. It was a lovely piece, not least in the writing, which was very lyrical without being maudlin or sentimental. The theme of birds and flight was gently woven into the fabric of the play and added to character development and imagery.
The Q&A session afterwards was very interesting and several audience members suggested fleshing out the male characters more (I approve) and discussed how the staging might be in its full form. Interestingly, the playwrights both wrote their parts independently on different continents but the play comes together so organically I don’t think anyone would have known if it hadn’t been referred to.
Overall, ‘For the Birds’ hit the mark perfectly for a reading in that it made you want to see a fully-fledged version. To say it left the audience wanting more is an understatement; people suggested that it should be a fair bit longer. Either way, I think a finished production of it will really be one to watch.
Taken from Not Good For My Rage.
Clare People articleClick to see the full size image.
