UBC Theatre stages Yvette Nolan's The Birds, with Michelle Olsen at the helm March 15 to 25
Director used unique rehearsal process for reimagined Aristophanes classic, interweaving story, images, sound, and movement
MFA directing candidate Michelle Olson
UBC Theatre and Film presents The Birds at the Dorothy Somerset Studio from March 15 to 25
IN THE BIRDS, acclaimed Indigenous playwright Yvette Nolan irreverently adapts Aristophanes’ clasic comedy, following two humans seeking freedom and a better way of life as they travel to the land of feathered friends.
In Nolan’s hands, the story becomes a metaphorical way of looking at colonialism and reconciliation. While one character has little regard for the land’s occupants and sets about constructing their own utopian “paradise”, the other begins to listen and respond to the birds with openness and curiosity.
Notably, the play is helmed by MFA directing candidate Michelle Olson. She’s led a unique rehearsal process with UBC acting students, in which they had a comprehensive workshop period and integrated Olsen’s use of “story weaving”—a practice of layering narrative with images, sound, and movement created by feminist Indigenous company Spiderwoman Theatre.
The show also happens to offer a first look at a mainstage production in UBC's new Dorothy Somerset Studio, an intimate, versatile black box venue.
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