Belvoir's The Birds: one-actor gamble undercuts avian thriller

Louise Fox's new Australian adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's The Birds, directed by Matthew Lutton, runs at Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney until 7 June 2026. The production transplants the story from Cornwall to a contemporary Australian coastal town, but the localisation is half-hearted: birds named are largely European, with only a late 'bin chicken' reference. The central conceit gives the entire play to a single actor, Paula Arundell, who plays Tessa and every other voice. While Arundell's Tessa is affecting, her voicing of the husband and children draws unintended laughter, puncturing the dread. Sound designer J. David Franzke and lighting designer Niklas Pajanti are praised for conjuring the birds through aural and visual means alone, with no birds on stage. The production is framed as a parable for climate anxieties but doesn't fully earn the reading. The review notes that the one-actor choice constrains rather than liberates the material, and that the production's biggest problem is internal.