‘Dirty Birds’: a play that’s two thirds entertaining, one third enlightening and all very good

By creammagazine, December 1, 2023

I’ve enjoyed just about every performance by actor Mandy McElhinney. I love her in lead roles on the theatrical stage; playing big-wigs in TV miniseries; heck I could even watch her Bali/Ketut advertisements on loop! But this review isn’t all about Mandy. In fact equal kudos must be given to she and her sister Hayley for their excellent two-hander Dirty Birds which is currently on at the Heath Ledger Theatre in Perth.

Nicely closing out the Black Swan State Theatre Company’s 2023 program, Hayley (who previously performed in Black Swan’s Oil) and Mandy (brilliant in The Glass Menagerie) join forces that are beyond the usual energy you might get with intimate two-person productions. Because of their close sibling relationship you actually do sense a certain authenticity in their delivery, whether they’re being comedic, dramatic, even over-dramatic.

‘Dirty Birds’ was conceived after twenty years of pondering and dreaming. It reflects the sisters’ Irish heritage while also kind of critiquing the tough economic situation many folks are experiencing post-pandemic.

The pair present themselves as Mary and Martha, two sisters grappling with ways to cope in a world of uncertain challenges and unrelenting elements. A storm is literally brewing outside, bills are left unpaid, and not much is in the kitchen for dinner that night (well, a carrot). Not surprisingly, anxiety is leading to a certain madness.

The backdrop to the play is all pretty much cardboard, and there’s hardly a special effect in sight, which means these actors really have to prove their worth. And prove it they do. Both actors deliver a tight, clever, often very funny script. While the Irish accents sometimes sound over-exaggerated, this only makes’ the performers’ diction/articulation even clearer. And you can forgive either of these ‘Birds’ for playing to the back of the room because it’s the kind of play that reads like major theatre gone slightly panto.

The script reads as two thirds entertaining and one third enlightening, but the real magic for me is when the sisters break out in a supercut of hard-partying.

For reasons that will be revealed when you see the production, the girls suddenly go on a rave-like bender, all to a retro soundtrack that traverses genres from The Pogues to Bonnie Tyler, The Proclaimers to Chumbawamba. It’s a scene that kind of reminded me of Ab Fab‘s Patsy and Eddie but that soon changed to more of an Eddie and Saffy situation when commonsense gets the better of one of them.

While providing laughs appears to be the primary purpose of this production, pathos comes in a close second. The delivery of the comedy is on-point but there’s a deeper, darker message in what is being said – some of the talk alluding to anxiety with identity, separation, even death.

The total time of this production is just an hour and ten minutes. While I prefer my plays to be short and not too epic, I must say I was very entertained by this one and kind of wish it went on for longer.

That said, it’s worth the trip away from the couch and Netflix, that’s for sure.

Antonino Tati

‘Dirty Birds’ runs until December 10, 2023 at the Heath Ledger Theatre, Northbridge.