Some days it’s harder to be a theater reviewer than others. And this is one of those harder days, because I’m still pondering the message and meaning of playwright Jiehae Par’s world premiere of “The Aves,” which opened at Berkeley Rep on May 7, 2025.
In “The Aves,” the stage of Peet’s Theatre is spectacularly transformed into a surreal park, with gently flowing water meandering throughout the stage. A surface layer of floating yellow-green plants floats on the water in the fabulous set design by Marsha Ginsberg. Leaves drop in the fall, and snow falls in the winter. Bird calls and nature sounds bring a sense of calm to the scenery. The sounds of thunder and rain are realistically scary (DJ Potts, sound design). A substantial gray marble bench faces the audience. I’d love to sit there.
Then an unnamed old man and an old woman sit on the bench (Bill Buell, Mia Katigbak). They sit close together, so we know they are a couple. They have an intermittent, inconsequential conversation about birds and the weather, as old married couples might. Then they look intently at a brochure and wonder if they can afford it. “Oh, they’re considering moving to senior housing,” I naively thought.
But no, as the one-act, 80-minute play continues, it appears that the couple decided to embark on some type of sci-fi body exchange, in which they replace their bodies with younger ones. First, the old man loses his sight, and the old woman seems to become young and vital (played by Laakan McHardy). The old man’s act seems doubly selfless — he loses his vision, and he can’t see his wife’s youthfulness, as in an ironic O. Henry story.
But later, it appears that the old man may have also turned into a different, young, overly energetic man (Daniel Croix). At one point during the performance, the younger and older women talk about their shared bodies. For example, the older tells the younger how she got that scar. As directed by Knud Adams, and in keeping with the surreal affect of “The Aves,” the actors’ performance style is unemotional and dreamlike.
A pair of talking puppet birds comment on the humans. Since “The Aves” (birds in Spanish) is the play’s title, they must have some importance, although they didn’t seem to add much to the meaning of the drama.
None of the characters seems very happy with their exchange, for they have lost as much or more than they have gained. It takes maturity to accept old age and wisdom in exchange for losing the energy and enthusiasm of youth. But, how many of us really would want to return to youth, if given the chance? And what if our partner made the transformation without us?
These are some of the ideas floating around “The Aves” that stayed with me long after the drama concluded. However, the concepts could have been articulated more clearly so that the audience might have been less confused.
By Emily S. Mendel
© Emily S. Mendel 2025 All Rights Reserved emilymendel@gmail.com
