Bird Song is the story of Stephen Wraysford between 1910-1914 during the First World War. It recounts his stay with a wealthy benefactor, his secret affair with the benefactor’s wife and his quest for love at the expense of humiliation and degradation. For Wraysford, love is an antidote, it gives him a reason to live and survive the war. His romantic affair juxtaposed with the reality of life in the trenches leaves him traumatized and confused as he makes sense of a new, altered world.
While this adaptation of Sebastian’s Faulk’s epic novel is at times moving, the actors fail to capture the true horror and urgency of the First World War. The transitions between different time periods are not at times fully integrated into the next scene causing a loss of tension. However, the traditional war songs led by violinist and singer James Findlay help the consolidation of these scenes while creating an appropriate melancholic atmosphere to the play.
The transitions between Stephen’s love affair.