Cast of Stupid F*cking Bird: Left to Right; Eric Grace, Wendy Magahay, MJ Connelly, Melissa Blank, Nicholas Guerreiro, James Johnson, Andrea Eggenberger. Photo credit: Clayton Jevne

Last weekend, I saw Theatre Inconnu’s final show of their 2023 season, by American playwright Aaron Posner. Posner has made a career of sorts by adapting the great plays of Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. This one is based on his play The Seagull, but he has also written adaptations of Uncle Vanya (titled His Life Sucks: Or the Present Ridiculous (2015)) and Three Sisters (titled No Sisters (2017)). The play premiered in Washington, DC in 2013, and is both a comedy and an homage to this great play. Program notes by director Morgan Gadd tell me that the play has had success internationally, with more than 200 productions in many countries.

The play begins with Emma’s (Wendy Magahay) son Con presenting his ‘performance event’ featuring his girlfriend Nina (Andrea Eggenberger) in a monologue of little literary value that ends up with Con in a temper tantrum stopping the performance. We meet his uncle Sorn (Eric Grace), his aunt Mash (Melissa Blank), her friend Dev (Nicholas Guerreiro), and Emma’s younger lover Trigorin (James Johnson). Nina is drawn to Trigorin, who is famous writer, and we see a relationship begin between the two of them, despite Emma’s attempts to prevent it. The two of them run off together, leaving Con bereft and attempting suicide, but failing. Four years pass by, and we hear that Trigorin and Nina are no longer together, after Nina lost their baby daughter. Indeed, he is back with Emma and we see them celebrating Sorn’s 70th birthday. Dev and Mash are now married, although Mash is still in love with Con, and they have three children. Nina returns to talk with Con, and we witness what may be the most faithful scene from the original play, the one in which Nina claims repeatedly that she is a seagull.

Throughout the play it is not uncommon for various characters to break out of role and directly address the audience. Con asks for relationship advice as he struggles to keep Nina, and there are wonderfully bleak songs sung by Mash on her ukulele. The production features strong performances by the majority of the cast, with strong performances from Wendy Magahay, Melissa Blank, James Johnson, Eric Grace, and Nicholas Guerreiro. Andrea Eggenberger was best in her ‘I am a seagull’ scene, but was less convincing in other parts of the play. As ever, director Gadd does well staging the play on the small stage in Paul Phillips Hall, and keeps the audience laughing throughout. I found the play witty and fun, but also true in essential ways to Chekhov’s great play. Recommended. The play runs until December 16th with tickets available at https://www.theatreinconnu.com/stupid-bird.