One of the most difficult kinds of theatre to perform faithfully in modern times is ancient Greek or Roman: that ever-present chorus crying out warnings and terror in musical unison; the masks which hide facial expressions; that awareness of what will happen at the end.
Erin Shields, the young playwright of If We Were Birds, a powerful, moving 90-minute play seen at its final preview at the Tarragon (where it will play until May 23), has made a number of wise choices that avoid these dilemmas. Most important, this impressive production is based on the not-well-known myth of Ovid’s Metamorphoses about Tereus, Procne and Philomela, so you may not be familiar with the plot.
Even better, Ms. Shields —whose shorter, earlier version of If We Were Birds won the Outstanding Production Award at the Summerworks Festival two years ago — has worked with a magnificent director from the very start, Alan Dilworth.
He has been assistant director at the Tarragon on such superior shows as Goodness and Leo, and he understands the importance of movement and colour.
At the very core of this often inspired production is rape, a theme that is prevalent throughout Ovid, much of Western theatre and literature.
But please don’t let this put you off from having this important experience: there is nothing cheaply “feminist” about recognizing that men cause wars and often see it as a drug (think Kathryn Bigelow’s Oscar-winning Hurt Locker) and that women are far too often its cruelly ravaged victims.
Do not fear: there is some pretty shocking blood shed and spurted in this brief play, but the single rape scene is done with taste and euphemistically; no eyes need turn away.
There is nothing more visibly shocking in this play than the words of Lady Macbeth, when she exclaims, “I have given suck … [yet would have] pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums, and dash’d the brains out.…”
Emotionally, at times, If We Were Birds approaches such horror, since Ms. Shields’s ability with poetic language is surprisingly mature and successful.
From the striking opening of the play, with birds chirping and cawing loudly throughout the Tarragon, we hear such evocative lines as “we [soldiers] satisfied ourselves with displaced women”; “if we were birds, we could fly away from shame”; and “I thought there was a difference between family and war.”
Bravo to the Tarragon for presenting such a daring, important new play and to the fine playwright, Erin Shields.
Do not forget: the gifted Hannah Moscovitch first wrote her superb one-acts Essay and The Russian Play for Summerworks, as well.
More great theatre this month Catalyst Theatre of Edmonton, one of this country’s most exciting companies, is presenting Frankenstein until May 29 at Canadian Stage’s Bluma Appel Theatre.
And Soulpepper, our country’s best company, is re-staging David Mamet’s great Glengarry Glen Ross, until June 5, and Brian Friel’s The Faith Healer until June 4. The latter, perhaps the finest living Irish playwright, wrote Translations, among other unforgettable plays, and it should be magnificent. Kudos to everyone for enriching our city’s stages this way.
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