Dirty Birds single work   drama  
Issue Details: First known date: 2023... 2023 Dirty Birds
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Blurring the lines between truth and fiction, journey through the past, present, real and absurd, as two big-hearted ‘losers’ carve out a place for themselves in a new world.

'Sisters, Mary and Martha, must leave their humble abode. Food is scarce, bills haven’t been paid, and nature is giving them an ultimatum. But there’s a problem - they can’t seem to get it together to do what needs to be done. What’s more, they’re not even sure who they are, which is which and where they should go. They search through memories, familiar rituals and endless cups of tea, looking for something that will shake them from their predicament before it’s too late.'

Source: Black Swan Theatre Company.

Affiliation Notes

  • This work has been affiliated with the Irishness in Australian Literature dataset because it contains Irish characters, settings, tropes or themes.

Production Details

  • Presented by Black Swan Theatre Company, at Heath Ledger Theatre, Perth, 18 November - 10 December 2023.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

Theatre Review : Dirty Birds, Heath Ledger Theatre, WA Nanci Nott , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: ArtsHub , November 2023;

— Review of Dirty Birds Hayley McElhinney , Mandy McElhinney , 2023 single work drama

''Dirty Birds' explores the off-centre symmetry of sisterhood in a context of anxious absurdity.'

The Exquisite Physical Comedy of Dirty Birds: a New Aussie Post-COVID Theatre of the Absurd Leah Mercer , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: The Conversation , 24 November 2023;

— Review of Dirty Birds Hayley McElhinney , Mandy McElhinney , 2023 single work drama

'Theatre is littered with sister double acts: Antigone and Ismene, Kate and Bianca, Blanche and Stella, Fleabag and Claire. The shared history of sisters delivers inbuilt emotional stakes and lots of baggage. The doubling of experience brings both love and rivalry, the joys of being known and the horrors of being trapped by the reflection of the other. Looking like not-quite twins, real-life sisters Hayley and Mandy McElhinney are the dirty birds of the title, in the world premiere of a co-written work in which they play reclusive sisters.' (Introduction)

The Exquisite Physical Comedy of Dirty Birds: a New Aussie Post-COVID Theatre of the Absurd Leah Mercer , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: The Conversation , 24 November 2023;

— Review of Dirty Birds Hayley McElhinney , Mandy McElhinney , 2023 single work drama

'Theatre is littered with sister double acts: Antigone and Ismene, Kate and Bianca, Blanche and Stella, Fleabag and Claire. The shared history of sisters delivers inbuilt emotional stakes and lots of baggage. The doubling of experience brings both love and rivalry, the joys of being known and the horrors of being trapped by the reflection of the other. Looking like not-quite twins, real-life sisters Hayley and Mandy McElhinney are the dirty birds of the title, in the world premiere of a co-written work in which they play reclusive sisters.' (Introduction)

Theatre Review : Dirty Birds, Heath Ledger Theatre, WA Nanci Nott , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: ArtsHub , November 2023;

— Review of Dirty Birds Hayley McElhinney , Mandy McElhinney , 2023 single work drama

''Dirty Birds' explores the off-centre symmetry of sisterhood in a context of anxious absurdity.'

Last amended 1 Sep 2024 10:09:12
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