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Jumping off a pier on a hang-glider or a pair of homemade wings might not sound like everybody’s idea of entertainment, but it’s pretty popular. ‘Birdman’ competitions take place each year in coastal towns from Worthing to Ilfracombe, and now assume fictional form in this new play by Alison Carr.
The setting is a B&B in an unnamed seaside town, run by grandmother Maeve (Tricia Kelly). Over this particular July weekend, however, there are no vacancies: Maeve’s daughter Claire (Judith Amsenga) has cancelled all bookings following her mother’s recent stroke. But one guest, Simon (Alan Mahon), appears to have missed the memo: he turns up late on Friday night, brandishing his email confirmation, and Claire decides to let his two-night booking stand.
It’s an intriguing premise, lent added interest by the fact that Simon is there to compete in the town’s Birdman contest: his wings are in his van, damaged following a collision on a petrol station forecourt. Damage, in fact, is the unifying theme of the play: all three characters are nursing fractures of both the physical and emotional variety, and these are gradually revealed over the course of the weekend.
There are some nice lyrical moments in Carr’s writing, and she has a sharp ear for naturalistic dialogue. She’s brave, too, in exploring Claire’s ambivalence about motherhood – she’s been staying with Maeve to look after her, but is also fleeing her husband and son – and there are some committed performances from the cast.
It’s a shame, then, that the play and Yasmeen Arden’s production is let down by clunky pacing and wobbly sections of exposition, and carries at least one emotional issue too many. Like a Birdman steeping off a pier on cobbled-together wings, it just never quite takes flight.