Admittedly I didn’t see this in July, but I didn’t go to the theatre this month, and I didn’t want to pass on an opportunity to review this!
I went into The Royal Court Theatre having no idea what to expect from this production. With Simon Stephens (one of my favourite writers, also known for adapting “The Curious Incident of A Dog in the Night-time” and writing “Sea Wall”) having written it, and Andrew Scott (one of my favourite actors who’s performance never fails to disappoint me, throughout his roles in Sherlock, The Town, etc) I thought it would be good, but I had never seen anything with a similar plot about a rock star before.
I was aware at the time that they had previously worked together as Scott was the main, and only, actor in “Sea Wall”, however on seeing “Birdland”, I had not seen this. Having now seen the short film of “Sea Wall” and having seen “Birdland”, I can assure you, they make a great team.
The play itself was fascinating. It illustrated how fame can often not be a blessing, by enabling the audience to feel sorry for Paul (played by Scott) as he slowly became more corrupt by his success and lost all sense of reality. The set was extremely basic, however I feel this was definitely deliberate. Along with only a very small cast, this simplicity allowed the audience to focus on the dramatic and entrancing acting, and also lose a sense of reality as Paul did.
As I said, there were few details within the set, however the props used were weighted with symbolism vital to the play, giving the impression that the words too, when looked at in detail would also carry deeper meanings.
On leaving The Royal Court, I was left with a lot to think about and many questions, not necessarily about the plot, but on how it linked to reality. Something I found strange was the fact that on exiting the theatre, I saw a large huddle of people waiting to pounce on Scott for autographs and photos as he left the stage door; had they missed the message of the play entirely? This was just another thing for me to think about from the play, and I always value this.
Not only did this play include brilliant writing and acting, but it really caused me to think, and change the way I view fame entirely. Highly recommend.
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