The Birds Descend on Melbourne Fringe with Sun, Sand and Imminent Doom

Sons of Stratford are back this Melbourne Fringe with Birds, a piece where sun, sand, and impending doom collide. Shayna and Beverley lounge in deck chairs, chain-smoking and chatting about the world’s most trivial and ridiculous obsessions, all while the sky literally falls around them. We caught up with performers Alex Hines and Sarah Stafford to discuss the thrill of revisiting sharing the stage, the chaos of their creative process, and why, after years of solo and collaborative work, nothing about Birds is predictable.

While the pair have collaborated on numerous productions over the years (including To Schapelle and Back, Putting On A Show and Girl Culture), this is the first time in a decade they are joining forces on stage. This unique arrangement was sparked by an idea from Stafford that perfectly suited Hines’ skills and presence. "Birds is something I've had in mind for a very long time," she says. "Having two women on the beach talking as the world ends. I pictured it being performed by myself and a drag queen so naturally, Alex got the part."

Hines agrees without hesitation, but having mainly performed solo in recent years, she has found herself noticing and rediscovering the dynamics of acting alongside another performer, particularly one frightening element. "In our last read-through it dawned on me...GOOD GOD I will need to learn my lines!" she exclaims. "I'm looking forward to being on stage with my girl - mostly because I'll have someone to blame if it goes tits up. I joke. Doing the lone star act can get lonely at times, and there's no one I'd rather be on stage with, so Birds has been a dream so far!"

"In the past we've teamed up on each other's shows, one performs and the other directs. This time round, we're experimenting with both of us performing side by side, with David Stewart directing us. We haven't been in the spotlight together in ten years so we truly have no clue how this will go," Stafford adds.

Having created work as a partnership for a good while, the two still find ways to catch each other off guard and take on different roles throughout their artistic process. "I like to surprise Alex by saying my new boundary is 9-5 rehearsal hours," Stafford laughs. "And then I press on until 3 am."

"I medicate myself pretty irregularly which keeps Sarah on her toes," Hines tells me. "We live interstate and rarely get to work in the same room so our approach is turbo-bursts of in-person intensives that usually conclude with me pissing myself."

The show blends camp, absurdity, and apocalyptic overtones as Shayna and Beverley spend their final hours on Earth relaxing by the beach. But don’t be fooled by this narrative setting, because wild and hectic antics are never far away. "I don’t think our shows could be story-focused if we tried," Hines says. "Like our previous works, this too will be chaotic. But it does move from woven sketches and is more of an absurdist theatrical piece. We're not quite sure how this will all link up though ... if only WE KNEWWWW!!!! We're pleading the Fifth till opening night! But it's going to be fire emoji, tongue-out emoji, swooping eagle emoji."

If sun, sand, and imminent peril sounds like your kind of paradise, Birds is ready to make your dreams come true as you laugh, gasp, and maybe question your life choices. Best book your tickets for this and hope the world doesn't end anytime soon!

FRINGE FIVE FAST ONES

1. A song I could listen to on repeat forever is
Sarah: Auld Lang Syne - bagpipes are the most beautiful instrument.
Alex: I couldn't listen to something forever. Everything I love, I tire of.

2. One object I can’t live without backstage is
Sarah: a chair -  I need to be seated.
Alex: (in response to Sarah's answer) werk.

3. My favourite word is
Alex: I don't have a favourite but my most HATED is grommets and Sarah won't shut up about hers.
Sarah: There's not a photo of me under the age of 9 without a swim cap on.

4. Something unexpected that brings me joy is
Sarah: driving in complete silence.
Alex: joy?

5. If I could live one day as someone else, it would be
Sarah: I'm shockingly comfortable in own skin to the point where I can't even entertain the hypothetical.
Alex: I'd live as Sarah, because I can't imagine wanting to be myself. 

SHOW DETAILS

Venue: Meat Market, 36-54 Courtney St, North Melbourne

Season: 30 September - 18 October | Tues - Sat 8.30pm

Duration: 60 minutes

Tickets: $38 Full | Conc
 $32 | Wednesday Hump Day $28.50 
Bookings: Melbourne Fringe Festival

Image credit: Skye Sobejko