don’t ask what the bird look like | Queensland Theatre
“Now more than ever this play needs to be seen.” (Roxanne McDonald)
I like observing. My surroundings and the people who inhabit the space. I’m attending the matinee performance of don’t ask what the bird look like. My curiosity about the choice of title is what brought me to this performance.
So to pass the time, I observe.
Today’s audience mainly comprises a more mature group while on the opposite side of the age spectrum, a bunch of schoolies occupy several rows. I note that old and young seem very comfortable in this space, to share jointly what is about to unfold on stage.
Observation over.
My attention is now drawn to the stage. A simple weatherboard facade with an open verandah dominates the setting. The background is completed in a soft pastel finishing and complimented by flowing Indigenous ochre motifs. This adds to the overall design - it gives this audience member the impression of an arid terrain that seems to extend to infinity with this lone house taking centre stage (no pun intended) and which nestles cosily within its vastness.
Cue melodic music. A young woman enters calling out to the person who lives at this address. An older man appears at the door. He welcomes her aloofly at first, all the while keeping his distance. Joan (Matilda Brown) has come to spend the weekend with her father Mick (Michael Tuahine) whom she has not seen in several years.
Joan wants to get to know Mick and is very upfront about the reason for her visit. With his help, she wants to spend time connecting with her Indigenous roots, to understand her culture, and to reconcile their tempestuous past. Mick is outwardly reluctant and adamantly goes about with his work leaving Joan on her own to discover her new surroundings. It’s clear that theirs is a fractious father/daughter relationship. But whatever secrets Mick is harbouring, is upended by the unannounced arrival of Pattie (Shakira Clanton).
Matilda Brown and Michael Tuahine each deliver stellar performances as they navigate the present and try to reconcile their intertwined past. Their initial meeting which starts off cool and distant, is wonderfully played out through their prolonged silences and obvious aversion to conversation. I was impressed with the way in which the father/daughter duo used these silences to affirm their discomfort about being around each other, relying purely on their body language to convey the unspoken and underscored by their finely drawn characterisation.
Matilda Brown’s Joan is determined, adventurous and hell bent on discovering her place within her estranged Indigenous family while hopefully getting to know her absent father. Michael Tuahine’s Mick is evasive, a workaholic, awkward around his daughter and a proud Indigenous man who prefers to keep the past hidden, a coping mechanism he has fine-tuned over the years.
Shakira Clanton embodied her role as an affable, flamboyant, empowered Indigenous woman who Joan (Matilda Brown) finds delightfully endearing. Her role as the boisterous character Pattie, is in stark contrast to the tolerant, controlled father/daughter duo dynamics and elicited many a laugh from the audience with her outspoken dialogue and physical antics. Praise is in order for her broad range of emotions that she so deftly portrayed within a short space of time - funny, sad, angry, disappointed, bitter, assertive - she embraced each of these with zest and pizzazz.
And who would’ve imagined that a game of scrabble could bring this trio closer together. Cleverly woven into the script, the words on the scrabble board hint at underlying emotions and tensions that have been dormant and simmering amongst the trio of characters.
Hannah Belanszky has written a magnanimous script. This, her main stage debut and world premiere, is an ode to yearning for connection with the land, with family and embarking on a journey towards healing from personal experiences. Ultimately, it questions sense of place and belonging, and the real need to know your heritage, your roots, your culture, your family and exploring what it is to be “white on the outside but feel very connected to your black roots” as Joan so aptly expressed during the performance.
Co-directors, Roxanne McDonald (this is her directorial debut with Queensland Theatre) and Lee Lewis have breathed life into the playwright’s multi-layered and nuanced script. By honouring her story, they have given the audience permission to fall in love with the relatable characters and take from the play what they may.
Set designer Chloe Greaves has set the tone for the unfolding drama of this deeply satisfying family story with her original and captivating set design. Her choice of mainly neutral shades offset by a backdrop designed in colourful ochre captures the essence of the natural landscape. The weatherboard cottage is a stark reminder of a habitat set within the vastness of a regional setting.
David Walters’ lighting choices expertly captures the changes of light as day versus night versus day. He creatively utilises the weatherboard cottage as a backdrop to project these changes where the interior/exterior lights additionally denote the time lapses and which further enhances the mood, the atmosphere of the overall performance.
The Sweats has masterfully composed an enthralling soundscape which is a harmonious mix of the sounds of nature, guitar strumming and soulful voice offerings. His authentic sounding bird composition transported this audience member to an imaginative, lush forest overflowing with the sounds of its natural inhabitants. But, as the play progresses, this bird song takes on a more chilling, ominous aspect.
As for the title…
Mysticism is deeply enshrined within many cultural practices. Skeptics will most likely disagree on its existence. Mystics will not. It all depends on which side of the spectrum you’re comfortable with. This debut stage production’s shattering finale will have you question yours.
don’t ask what the bird look like is a slow burn at first. Then it packs a (heartbreaking) punch when you’re least expecting it.
