Review: ACT's Funny STUPID F**KING BIRD Gets Too Deconstructed

I'm perfectly fine when a play chooses to break the fourth wall and become self-referential. The ability for anything to be able to point out its own shortcomings is a sign of self-actualization. But when a play repeatedly does so and then pats itself on the back for its cleverness of doing so as does Aaron Posner's "Stupid F**king Bird", currently playing at ACT, then it becomes wearing almost to the point of insulting. And while Posner's play certainly has its funny moments, those repeated exposés onto itself started to feel like the play was flipping the audience the bird (and I don't mean a Seagull).

Let me see if I can unravel this for you. Posner has attempted to riff off Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull" with a modern bent. Insecure teacher Dev (MJ Sieber) is in love with brooding artist Mash (Keiko Green) who pines for pretentious performance artist Con (Adam Standley) who is dating wanna-be actress Nina (Jasmine Jean Sim) who is enamored with successful writer Trig (Connor Toms) who is seeing Con's successful actress mother Emma (Suzanne Bouchard). So not a love triangle but a love hexagon all happening under the watchful eye of Emma's brother Sorn (G. Valmont Thomas) who just wants someone to love of his own in his waning years.

While this tale of unattainable love chugs along, Posner also delves into the deconstruction of Chekhov's source play, his own play, theater, art, love and life itself. He does this by repeatedly stopping the action to address and engage the audience with character inner monologues and self-deprecating references. It's a "Don't you hate it when plays do X, which we're doing right now?" sort of thing. Like I said, a few of those can be engaging and can shake awake your audience but after repeated times it just feels a bit masturbatory or as they said themselves in the play, like a hand job. It's enjoyable while it's happening but it's not very memorable and it'll never rock your world. And I have to comment (as they did themselves) on the repeated F-bombs. Sure it gets you noticed and may get butts in seats but so much of it felt gratuitous.

Director Jessica Kubzansky and the very talented ensemble cast tackle the convention with gusto and do make much of it fun and engaging. Bouchard's take on an actress faced with her advancing years is quite layered and vulnerable and hopefully not based in her own fears as she could read from the phone book and it would be a revelation. Green and Sieber make for a lovely counterbalanced if not unstable couple that you just want to succeed. Standley never ceases to impress me in whatever role he tackles and his misunderstood artist here is no exception with his complex interpretation. Sim manages a naïve charm underpinned by a schemer who knows just what she's doing beautifully which makes Toms' philandering writer all the more fun as you watch him think he's in control when it's really her game. And Thomas while inhabiting a character who feels a bit outside the central story still manages to keep his goals front and center and thoroughly relevant to the piece.

So this piece, with its classic source material, deconstructed world and entertaining performances is never going to cure cancer. Did it rock my world? No. Did it tell me it wasn't going to rock my world? Yes. Did its insistence on telling me that wear thin? Very much so. But did I still have a good time? Sure. And so with my three letter rating system I give ACT's "Stupid F**king Bird" a slightly put off YAY-. You may enjoy the hand job but you also may feel a little sullied afterward.

"Stupid F**king Bird" performs at ACT through May 8th. For tickets or information contact the ACT box office at 206-292-7676 or visit them online at www.acttheatre.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.