(Syracuse, NY) – Syracuse Stage begins 2016 with an irreverent comedy Stupid F***ing Bird, a contemporary mash-up of Anton Chekhov’s modern classic The Seagull. Written by Aaron Posner and directed by Howard Shalwitz, the play comes to Syracuse Stage from the Woolly Mammoth Theatre in Washington, D.C. where it won two Helen Hayes Awards and performed to sold out houses.
Not so much an adaptation as a new play built on the bones of The Seagull, Stupid F***ing Bird gives Chekhov’s famous characters and themes a decidedly up-to-date spin. An aspiring young director rampages against the art created by his mother’s generation. A nubile young actress wrestles with an aging Hollywood star for the affections of a renowned novelist. Plus, unrequited love abounds as Dev loves Mash who loves Con who loves Nina who sort of loves Con back but now only has eyes for Trig. Love, art, and growing up prove so disappointing, and so comical.
“What Aaron does is sort of remove the entire social context from 19th century Russia,” says Shalwitz. “As a result, he focuses more on simple universal human relationships, or look at young people who have these dreams of how they want their lives to go and struggle to move beyond those dreams when they don’t work out.”
Part of the way Posner updates Chekhov is to use songs and to let the characters speak directly to the audience to express their thoughts and feelings. At times, they even solicit advice from the audience. “The proverbial ‘fourth wall’ of theatrical realism is shattered from the very first line,” Shalwitz notes, as the play does not begin until the audience says it can.
Posner is a highly regarded director and playwright whose adaptations include The Chosen and My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok. He recently collaborated with the magician Teller (of Penn and Teller fame) on an adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest for the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. He is a founder and former artistic director of the Arden Theatre in Philadelphia.
