About
STUPID FUCKING BIRD by Aaron Posner sort of adapted from The Seagull by Anton Chekhov, directed by Vinetta Strombergs.
Posner’s widely critically acclaimed work was originally produced by legendary theatre group Woolly Mammoth Theatre Co. in Washington DC in May 2013, where it won the Helen Hayes award for best new play.
Subsequently produced all over the US to rave reviews and sold out houses, this is the much anticipated Canadian premiere.
An irreverent update, a completely fresh and inspired version of Chekhov’s masterpiece looking at unrequited love and emotional misery in a entirely hilarious new way. A comedy for those who think and a tragedy for those who feel.
It is wickedly funny, heart-breaking, truthful, angst-ridden, meta-theatrical, multi-generational, and a perfect ensemble piece. Its not just a new translation or adaptation of a period piece but a sharply drawn contemporary investigation of those iconic characters, their needs and wants and realities. Rather than being a classic of the Moscow Art Theatre, it belongs to our North American present; it reflects our now.
Cast & Creative
Cast
Rachel Cairns
Richard Greenblatt
Brendan Hobin
Karen Knox
Craig Lauzon
Daniel Maslany
Sarah Orenstein
Director
Vinetta Strombergs
Set and lighting design
Steve Lucas
Costume design
Christine Urquhart
Stage Manager
Lin-Mei Lay
Produced by The Bird Collective
This is a Canadian Actors' Equity Association production under the Artists' Collective Policy.
Quotes
Lively, entertaining new riff on classic play. The performances are all strong. See, Chekhov can be fun!
- The Globe and Mail
Energetic, Enthralling, Passionate!
- Toronto Star
‘American playwriting is back on a roll’: Aaron Posner’s Stupid F–ing Bird is ‘theatrically illuminating’
- National Post
Stupid Fucking Bird soars
NNNN
F-bomb laden Chekhov adaptation is frank, fresh and fierce
- NOW
An admirable ‘Seagull’ for the current age!
- Mooney on Theatre
A wonderfully stylish production thanks to director Vinetta Strombergs and her dandy cast, of this impish, thoughtful and moving adaptation by Aaron Posner of Chekhov’s play
- The Slotkin Letter
The expletive smack in the middle of the title of Aaron Posner’s “sort of” adaptation of “The Seagull” is not there for decoration, or even provocation. It is wholly emblematic of Mr. Posner’s raw, theatrically audacious version of this Chekhov classic.
- The New York Times
Even if you have never seen The Seagull or pondered the meaning of performance art, Stupid Fucking Bird will captivate you with its unexpected insights into the human capacity for love, misery, and creative self expression. If you are a lover of Chekhov or a student of the theater it just might blow you away.
- Talkin' Broadway
Rarely have the characters of Anton Chekhov felt as alive as they do in Stupid F**king Bird...this play's characters speak with a distinctly contemporary tongue.
- TheaterMania.com
