The Birds (Malthouse Theatre) - 80 minutes

I know the 2025 Green Room Awards for the best of the best of Melbourne theatre have just been announced, but here is the early contender to scoop the pool in 2026.

The Birds is a blindingly creative immersive experience, which leaves an indelible impression.

A brilliant performer in Paula Arundell is on stage on her own for 80 minutes and is totally captivating.

Photos by Pia Johnson

While she is in front of us throughout, behind the scenes the team has worked tirelessly to make The Birds the visual and aural spectacle it is.

Let us go back to the beginning.

It was 1952 when acclaimed British writer Daphne du Maurier first published the short horror story The Birds (part of her collection titled The Apple Tree).

Set in du Maurier’s home county of Cornwall not long after the end of WWII, it dealt with fear and paranoia.

A farmhand, his family and community come under lethal attack from flocks of birds.

Alfred Hitchcock turned it into a film of the same name 11 years later.

Oscar-nominated for visual effects, it saw lead actress Tippi Hedren win the Golden Globe for most promising female newcomer.

Now, Louise Fox has superbly contemporised du Maurier’s tale of anguish and woe, adapting it to the present day, recreating the fear and paranoia in a modern setting.

Amidst the catastrophic, she has also left room for some lighter moments.

Before the production starts, we are asked to put on lightweight headphones, a pair attached to each chair.

J. David Franzke has used binaural sound to bring to life the environment in which wife and mother of two Tessa (Arundell) finds herself trapped and under attack.

The family has moved to the country to escape the rat race and because, unlike the city, it was affordable, even with rooms to spare.

They have done so after an incident that saw Tessa’s husband Nat suffer a breakdown and lose his job.

Tessa likes the fact that she can work from home and it is quiet – sleepy even.

Her happy place is the beach and she feels safe. Little does she realise what is coming and coming very soon.

After witnessing a seemingly innocuous incident involving a gull swooping on a born and bred local, Tessa is the subject of a much more ferocious attack.

It will leave no less than 50 small birds of different species lying dead in her home as the winter chill sets in.

She struggles to convince anyone, including acquaintance Muriel, that what she was subjected to was a targeted attack, but that soon changes.

In no time, the town is overrun by millions of “kamikaze” birds, out to eradicate all in their path.

There will be human casualties and Tessa will do everything she can to protect her husband and their two children, Jill and Johnny.

But, will it be enough? Why are the birds doing this? Why are they shutting out the sun with their sheer gargantuan numbers. Why are they rampaging en masse? Is it retribution?

The strength of this offering lies in the authenticity of sound and sight, which are so rich and redolent.

I am full of praise for both sound designer and composer J. David Franzke and lighting designer Niklas Pajanti, who take us to the heart of darkness and despair.

As already referenced, Arundell is phenomenal, playing every character and adopting a different tone for each, be it Tessa, her husband, her children or locals.

In short, she is the physical embodiment of the work, potent and persuasive.

Her authority also lies in her facial expressions.

Clever set design by Kat Chan (who is also responsible for costuming) sees household and farm items positioned on low shelving either side of a nondescript, empty, slightly elevated rectangular stage. Bird boxes are overhead.

In that way, the onus can remain on the words – the expository prose – and the sound and lighting.

The Birds is nothing short of transformative.

Much credit for that must also go to director Matthew Lutton for maximising the impact of an intense, terrifying story that says much about the human condition.

It is on at Beckett Theatre, at Malthouse Theatre, until 7th June, 2025.

This is theatrical gold. Do not miss it.