Conor McPherson’s “The Birds” at the Gate Theatre

When asked during his Culture Night Q&A if he was afraid of the reaction of people who had come along to see the play expecting to see a version of the movie made for the stage, playwright Conor McPherson laughed and admitted “Not until now.“

From the celebrated author of such masterworks as Rebecca, Jamaica Inn and My Cousin Rachel, comes Daphne Du Maurier’s enthralling gothic tale of mystery and suspense.

Immortalised by Alfred Hitchcock in his legendary film and now re-imagined in a chilling new adaptation by acclaimed Irish playwright Conor McPherson (The Weir, Dublin Carol, Come On Over, Port Authority and Shining City), The Birds is an unrelenting and spellbinding portrait of terror and alienation.

His new play, a production of Daphne DuMaurier’s short story The Birds is currently showing at the Gate Theatre as part of the Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival and it’s as far away from the Hitchcock movie as it could be.

Instead, what remains is a chilling, atmospheric, somewhat enchanting horror story about the end of the world and the lengths people will go to to protect themselves and those they care about.

I saw the matinee of the play on Saturday afternoon, after attending the Q&A with McPherson the night before. I’ll put it to you this way - if you’re uneasy about birds before seeing this, this won’t help!

Directed by Michael Colgan, McPherson’s play - two hours and 20 minutes long - has one of the best casts of any production in the festival and boy, does it benefit accordingly.

Featuring Sinéad Cusack (V for Vendetta; The Tiger’s Tail), Ciarán Hinds (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; In Bruges) and Denise Gough on a set which is of the downstairs room of a lakeside house, the play puts us at the start of the attack of The Birds, of two people thrown together by accident - Nat rescues Diane from her car where she’s been trapped by the birds and brings us through how a writer, a man with possible mental issues and the young girl who comes to stay with them relate to each other, to their surroundings and predicament, how they behave in public and private and how the dynamic changes between them.

From the very start, where a piano plays (Fionnuala Ní Chosáin‘s soundtrack is eerie and appropriate, to say the least) and the lights dim to the opening words - “Have they got in?” “No”, we are invited into a supernatural, yet familiar setting. Maybe it’s all the horror movies I’ve watched but the set - a room with big windows, a door, a staircase leading to somewhere and then the usual presses and furniture of a kitchen - dining room is such a powerful part of the piece that you can empathise with the character’s frustrations at being stuck there. Rae Smith is to be applauded for same.

The birds effects were great. Never over the top, always emphasising how scary it could have been, how fraught with danger the character’s existence is and reminding us of their presence. I watched the audience shift uneasily in their seats every time the effects came through and remembered just how freaked I was by the original movie.

It is a strange thought - to be at the mercy of nature and of birds. Sinéad Cusack’s character is a pensive, emotionally cold and practical woman whose very presence demands attention. Throughout the play my liking for her veered from admiration to despair to frustration to unease, as she forced herself to interact with the unstable Nat and yet tried to remain true to herself, to keep her sanity. Ciarán Hinds was magnificent as the hammer-carrying trying-to-do-his-best Nat, confused by it all but feeling responsible, almost paternal towards both female leads, a guilt at his own history. “The last thing I want to do is make any trouble for you.”

The relationship between Nat and Diane is magnetic, hypnotic and you almost will them to succeed, only to have it interrupted by Julia and her influence on them both. There’s a hugely poignant moment where Diane reveals via voiceover (as she writes into her diary) “I can’t help feeling they communicate something in the silence. All I get is the silence”

McPherson’s script is dark, with moments of light relief thrown in, though never for the sake of it. People try to inject humour into the worst of situations and McPherson ably illustrates this. The revelations about Nat’s background, their seeking of entertainment and of comfort “There’s no cake, but you can’t have everything. You can’t have ANYTHING!” and the swearing all provide welcome relief to how heavy overall the play is. There are surprises, there are moments of complete darkness and there are revelations - in the truest sense of the word - that will surprise and delight you.

This is a challenging piece. Very much so. It will provoke thought, reaction and will tantalise you with more questions than it answers. There is a restlessness here, a craft and a skill in involving the audience in the fate of three - or four - people that deserves to be appreciated and is sure to win awards. The sustained applause was well earned.

The Birds plays at the Gate Theatre tomorrow night, September 29. Tickets are from €27 to €35 and it plays at 8pm until Saturday 10 October. There are matinees at 3pm on Saturdays October 3 and 10.

A big thanks to Nuala for the tickets. Really enjoyed it