“It was clear some people had found the play quite powerful”
‘Birdwatching’ is a three-woman show set in the Northumbrian forests, which follows a group of girls in their late teens attempting a camping trip. It explores themes including folklore, neurodivergence and friendship dynamics between young women.
The Northern Stage is a very nicely presented and modern little theatre, and I appreciated the intimate setting for this particular play. As it began, the very minimal set of just leaves on the ground was enough to make the audience feel like we were enveloped in the surroundings of a forest, where the story was about to unfold.
The acting was brilliant. As someone who was a teenager not long ago, I felt like I could relate to each character in some way. I thought it was a great idea to create a dynamic of neither three friends nor three strangers: these were two people who were mutual friends with the third. It meant tension and jealousy started to arise, as they unintentionally competed for attention and proving that they were the closer friend. It was interesting to see how one of the girls, Lauren, showed neurodivergent characteristics: very nervous, insecure and struggling to fit in, particularly with the girl she didn’t know. Meanwhile it seemed that one of the other girls, Poppy, could be too, but it was less obvious because she had more of a confident and abrasive front. The third, Amelia, had trauma in her past, and the way the three acted around each other and treated each other was fascinating – I imagine it was very interesting to write. In some ways, the competition between Poppy and Lauren over Amelia made them almost ignore Amelia herself, and dismiss her concerns of danger.
Throughout the show, I felt it was taking a path where the girls were going to uncover things about themselves and each other, ultimately developing relationships and potentially romance. There seemed to be a lot of loose ends and things mentioned which I was hoping would culminate in a resolution, but many of them were never mentioned again, and instead the story took a sudden wild turn, ending with what I could only describe as paranormal horror. I would say that there were a lot of unanswered questions, and it left me feeling slightly unsatisfied.
After the show there was a question and answer session which allowed the audience to talk to the cast and producers. It was lovely to hear people talk about identifying with the characters due to their own experiences of being neurodivergent, young and queer, and it was clear some people had found the play quite powerful.
In summary, I found the acting brilliant, the concept and characterisation very interesting and my attention was held throughout, but I felt there was more of a story to unfold before the abrupt ending.