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A haunting new adaptation of 'The Birds' lands at Melbourne's Malthouse Theatre

A haunting new adaptation of 'The Birds' lands at Melbourne's Malthouse Theatre

Time Out3 days ago

It's been more than 70 years since Daphne du Maurier wrote The Birds, the gothic short story that famously inspired Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 film of the same name. Decades later, it remains one of the most unsettling tales ever told. Now, Malthouse Theatre is bringing this classic thriller to the stage in a bold new form: a reimagined one-woman show starring Paula Arundell (Three Furies, Antony and Cleopatra, Henry V).
Adapted by Louise Fox and directed by former Malthouse artistic director Matthew Lutton (Picnic at Hanging Rock), the new production blends psychological horror with cutting-edge audio technology to create a truly immersive experience. As the theatre darkens and you don a pair of headphones, prepare for your pulse to race.
The stunning sound design by J. David Franzke uses binaural sound – a 360-degree audio technique – to drag you into the haunting tale where a coastal town is under supernatural siege from a flock of birds. Arundell performs with tiny microphones in her ears, capturing every whisper, gasp, flap, screech and swoop as though it is terrifyingly close.

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A haunting new adaptation of 'The Birds' lands at Melbourne's Malthouse Theatre
A haunting new adaptation of 'The Birds' lands at Melbourne's Malthouse Theatre

Time Out

time3 days ago

  • Time Out

A haunting new adaptation of 'The Birds' lands at Melbourne's Malthouse Theatre

It's been more than 70 years since Daphne du Maurier wrote The Birds, the gothic short story that famously inspired Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 film of the same name. Decades later, it remains one of the most unsettling tales ever told. Now, Malthouse Theatre is bringing this classic thriller to the stage in a bold new form: a reimagined one-woman show starring Paula Arundell (Three Furies, Antony and Cleopatra, Henry V). Adapted by Louise Fox and directed by former Malthouse artistic director Matthew Lutton (Picnic at Hanging Rock), the new production blends psychological horror with cutting-edge audio technology to create a truly immersive experience. As the theatre darkens and you don a pair of headphones, prepare for your pulse to race. The stunning sound design by J. David Franzke uses binaural sound – a 360-degree audio technique – to drag you into the haunting tale where a coastal town is under supernatural siege from a flock of birds. Arundell performs with tiny microphones in her ears, capturing every whisper, gasp, flap, screech and swoop as though it is terrifyingly close.

Adrian Lester and Alfred Enoch lead Royal Shakespeare Company's ‘global' new season
Adrian Lester and Alfred Enoch lead Royal Shakespeare Company's ‘global' new season

The Guardian

time4 days ago

  • The Guardian

Adrian Lester and Alfred Enoch lead Royal Shakespeare Company's ‘global' new season

Adrian Lester transforming into Cyrano de Bergerac, Alfred Enoch taking on Henry V and a lauded reboot of The Forsyte Saga are part of a new Royal Shakespeare Company season its co-artistic directors say represents a bold 'global' vision for the institution. Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey announced the latest productions on Tuesday, saying the new programme was a celebration of globally inspired stories, 'thrillingly told by the most exciting theatre artists of today'. Lester will star in Simon Evans and Debris Stevenson's new 'quick-witted' version of Cyrano de Bergerac, and follows in the footsteps of Antony Sher, who played the role in a celebrated Gregory Doran-directed production for the RSC in 1997. Enoch, known for his role in the Harry Potter films, will team up with Harvey for her version of Henry V after the pair worked on a critically acclaimed version of Pericles in 2024. Pericles was Harvey's first production for RSC since starting as co-director and she will be hoping for a similarly well-received project. The Guardian's Mark Lawson praised last year's collaboration between Enoch and Harvey, who he said couldn't 'disguise the play's peculiarities but proves its beauties to be equally deep and its political intelligence acute'. A two-part production of The Forsyte Saga, which is based on John Galsworthy's books, comes to the Swan theatre in November 2025 after a successful run last year at the Park theatre in London. Josh Roche's production has won plaudits already, with the Observer praising the minimalist approach. Susannah Clapp said 'the family epic unfolds with intimate clarity on an almost bare stage', adding that – although the two parts could be seen separately – it was 'satisfying to see them in one gulp'. There will be 14 opportunities to see the productions in one sitting during the run, which ends on 10 January 2026. The production isn't without its controversies: a rape scene horrified some viewers when the books were adapted for television by the BBC in 1967 and ITV in 2002. The outgoing artistic director of the Bush theatre, Lynette Linton brings a new musical adaptation of William Kamkwamba's award-winning memoir, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, to the Swan theatre next February. Other productions include Daniel Raggett directing Sam Heughan and Lia Williams, who will star in Macbeth; while Whitney White brings All Is But Fantasy, an ambitious production billed as 'four stories staged across two gig-theatre performances set against a live soundtrack of rock, pop, indie and gospel'. Sign up to The Guide Get our weekly pop culture email, free in your inbox every Friday after newsletter promotion Evans and Harvey said: 'From Malawi or Manhattan, through French fields, Scottish heaths, mythical lands and Giant country, our 2025/26 programme celebrates what we believe a 21st-century RSC can and should be: global in ambition and outlook, open and collaborative in nature and continuously redefining how Shakespeare and great storytelling can bring joy, connection and improve our understanding of one-another. It was recently announced that Ncuti Gatwa, who recently concluded his role on Doctor Who, will star alongside Edward Bluemel in RSC's Shakespeare vMarlowe drama, Born With Teeth by Liz Duffy Adams, which has its West End premiere at Wyndham's theatre in August. The joint artistic directors have previously secured 25,000 tickets at £25 in an attempt to 'throw open the doors' to a more diverse crowd, while James Ijames's Pulitzer prize-winning play, Fat Ham, was part of their spring 2025 season, one of three versions of Hamlet the RSC was staging.

Enya seen for the first time in 8 years after reclusive life in Victorian castle
Enya seen for the first time in 8 years after reclusive life in Victorian castle

Metro

time30-05-2025

  • Metro

Enya seen for the first time in 8 years after reclusive life in Victorian castle

Enya has been spotted for the first time in years. The Only Time hitmaker, 64, is rarely seen out and about, having floated onto the world's stage in the 1980s with her ethereal, unique sound on hits including Orinoco Flow and Evening Falls. Since, she's clocked up four Grammy Awards, countless nominations and an Oscars shortlist for her soundtrack classic May It Be, from Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. The vocalist, famed for her haunting choir-like melodies, is the second most successful Irish artist of all time after U2, having sold over 80million albums, and she's got a reported £98m fortune. Fans have been wondering where Enya is, as her last music drop was ten years ago in her 2015 eighth studio album, Dark Sky Island. She's also not been seen publicly since the Grammys in 2017, so this was a reassuring moment for fans, as she looked the picture of health, dressed up for a wedding at Drumhalla House in Donegal on May 16. The Only Time hitmaker wore a gorgeous black and white lacey dress, with a shimmering necklace and short haircut as she posed with fellow attendees. The Irish singer's reclusive lifestyle has been documented over the years, as she reportedly spends much time in her 19th century castle, located just south of Dublin, by the sea. Having bought Manderley Castle – named after the house in her favourite book, Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca – in 1997 for €3.8m (£2.5m), Enya is thought to enjoy the sprawling space with, at one time, up to a dozen cats. In a 2015 interview while talking about her new music, Enya touched on her love life. 'I am single, yes,' she told The Independent. 'But as the song suggests, there have been… relationships. It's quite hard to have someone accept that – well, not that they are second to the music, but that I do need a certain amount of space for it. 'And even though the person will understand that at the beginning, there is something like jealousy towards the music after a while.' There was a seven-year gap between her last two albums, and Enya said at the time that she needed the pause. Alongside her Irish bolthole, Enya bought a house in the south of France and travelled in this time, visiting family. The rest of her days, the publication report, are spent in Manderley Castle, not far from Bono's place. During her time there Enya has fortified the castle walls sky-high, having experienced a number of disturbing run-ins with stalkers, which she told the outlet has 'been traumatic'. Enya was born Eithne Ní Bhraonáin in Ireland in 1961, one of nine children. As a teenager Enya enjoyed a brief time with her family's band Clannad, before going it alone and collaborating with producer Nicky Ryan and his poet wife Roma Ryan, who she continued to work with all the way to her latest album. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you.

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