Suspense thriller "The Birds" grips Amarillo

by Rob Howard
Associate Editor

If you are an Alfred Hitchcock fan, and you think you know all about the suspense thriller "The Birds", then you haven’t seen the stage play by the same name, adapted by Irish playwright Conor McPherson from Daphne du Maurier’s short story. “The two pieces of material are not anywhere near the same,” says Allen Shankles, the Executive Director of Amarillo Little Theatre (ALT), which is producing the play November 3-13.

Yes, the movie and the stage play were both drawn from du Maurier’s work, but as the "Chicago Tribune" wrote, “Hitchcock pretty much took the title and the basic notion of birds attacking humans and ditched everything else.”

Shankles explains, “The characters in the play are holed up in an abandoned country cottage. You can hear the birds outside trying to get in. There are two women and one man confined in the house. The women end up being at odds with each other due to their relationships with the man.”

He described it as a psychological suspense thriller. “You’re concerned the birds are going to get in. These three people are struggling for the survival of the human race. The birds have destroyed everything else so far as they can tell.” But, he notes, no live birds are included in the production – the suspense is enhanced by the sounds of the birds from the outside of the cottage.

This is a gripping, unsettling, and moving look at human relationships in the face of societal collapse.

When "The Birds" premiered in Dublin the "Irish Times" raved, "McPherson keeps us on the edge of our seat" and the "Irish Independent" hailed the play as "deliciously chilling" and "spring-loaded with tension."

Kim Shreffler directs the ALT production. The play stars Jo Smith as Diane, Michael Newman as Nat, Reilly Downes as Julia, and Jeffrey Pickens as Tierney. All the actors for ALT are local volunteers.

Shankles is proud of the ALT. He says, “We’re a very large and successful community theatre that has been producing theatre in Amarillo for 90 years. We do nine major productions a year; the season runs from August to May. ALT has two theaters, their Mainstage, with 453 seats, and the Adventure Space, with a 180 seat flexible space. 

"The Birds" is performed at the Adventure Space, November 3 to 13. Tickets are $19 to $21 depending on the night, with discounts for students, seniors and children, and can be purchased by phone at (806) 355-9991, or online at www.amarillolittletheatre.org.

Copyright The Gayly - 10/29/2016 @ 8:14 a.m. CDT.