Based on Daphne du Maurier’s short story, “The Birds” (1952), which inspired Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 film of the same title, Conor McPherson’s play is set in an isolated lakeside house, sometime, somewhere in the present. Relative strangers Nat and Diane have taken refuge in the abandoned dwelling, seeking sanctuary from the winged beasts that have been killing all around them. The corpse of a recent victim must first be removed from upstairs before they can settle in, but even then there is no chance of getting comfortable. The electricity is down, supplies are low, and the gulls rise, ritualistically, with the tides. Soon, fear of the outside world breeds paranoia of internal relations, and the arrival of young Julia, complicates what was presumed to be a battle with nature.
