"The Birds"

Birds lands on Lane’s stage

Lane Student Productions Association is performing Aristophanes’ Birds, which won the second place award at the City Dionysia Festival in Athens. Since it was first performed in spring of 414 BC, it has remained one of the classics by Aristophanes (author of Lysistrata), and has been called many things from, an escape to Utopia, to a play for peace, to a political commentary, but is ubiquitously known as a comedy.

Birds, not to be confused with Alfred Hitchcock’s film The Birds, is more of an ancient Greek Saturday Night Live. It is said to be part of Hitchcock’s inspiration for seeing birds as such a powerful force and there are some parallels in plot, such as the purchase of birds in a market place as a means to locate a person, the enlisting of birds in the quest for love, and a removal of the main characters from a city with a penchant for litigation.

Aristophanes would frequently use his writing to parody and lampoon the local, relevant, popular culture and politics, and Birds is frequently adapted to fit the present day of its production. Lane’s production will be no exception with bawdy references to recent goings on.

Reviews have called Birds “a mirthful, buoyant creation, bright with the gayest plumage, a piece of the most harmless buffoonery, which has a fling at everything, gods as well as men…” and say, “The Birds fairly sparkles with the boldest and richest imagery within the province of the fantastic.”

Student Productions Association’s Lane production of Birds will be directed by James Aday, a guest to LCC and a well respected community artist and director. All performances will be held in Lane Community College’s Blue Door Theater. Birds, due to its bawdy and irreverent nature, will admit no children under the age of 13, and is not recommended for anyone under the age of 17. For reservations or ticket information call (541) 463-5761.

Special Thanks

Photography

Michael Brinkerhoff

Poster Design

Programs