'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.
Presented by Black Swan Theatre Company, at Heath Ledger Theatre, Perth, 18 November - 10 December 2023.
''Dirty Birds' explores the off-centre symmetry of sisterhood in a context of anxious absurdity.'
'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 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)
''Dirty Birds' explores the off-centre symmetry of sisterhood in a context of anxious absurdity.'