MTYP’s Tad & Birdy takes flight by centring power of invention

Before it evolves into its final form, the tadpole exists in a humble state of in-betweenness. With only a head, a tail and a nametag, Tad (Hera Nalam) can imagine for herself endless futures.

Will she grow up to become a common treefrog, blending into the bark and free-soloing up a Douglas fir skyscraper? When confronted by enemy forces, will she paraglide across the canopy like her graceful Bornean relative, Wallace’s flying frog? And what if being an amphibian isn’t her end goal?

Can she skip the slime, sprout some feathers and become a bird instead?

When Tad & Birdy begins, the larval Tad is very much afloat. Living inside a labelled jar, Tad has been plunked into what her roommate Birdy (Samuel Benson in his professional debut) considers “the middle of the world”: a bedroom belonging to an unseen little boy he refers to as “the Big One,” whose every footstep rattles the floorboards like a sudden earthquake.

In this state of captivity, the starring creatures of playwright Anika Dowsett’s first professionally staged production — which bounces energetically throughout its 45-minute runtime — challenge their senses of limitation and awaken their capacity to trust each other while contending with changing winds.

Dowsett’s script, well-realized by director Erin McGrath, quickly ingratiates our stars to the audience, showing Nalam’s Tad as she finds her voice. “Squawk!” she shouts, mimicing her older roommate, Birdy, who was once the top flier in his flock but now, with a hint of millennial burnout, struggles to soar as far as the ceiling.

While Benson earns his wings as the production flies by, its his task to keep up with Nalam, a local actor who finally gets a chance to show off the range of her comedic chops in a theatre setting.

Bringing the spirit and energy of an animated character to the stage, Nalam could be called on to teach a workshop in “shoulders-up” acting: before her character develops arms and legs, Nalam is able to communicate every emotion using her eyes and voice alone.

Once her appendages pop through, Nalam’s Tad bounces around Denyse Karn’s colourful set with excellent control, engaging with the built environment to seize upon every opportunity for silliness. Nalam, who’s appeared in multiple productions for Shakespeare in the Ruins and Walk&Talk Theatre Company, has the exact skillset required of great young children’s theatre performers, keeping the energy in the room high and patiently working with the audience to guide them along.

The same can be said of Benson, a recent graduate of the University of Winnipeg’s honours theatre program, who does well in moments of wackiness — shaking his tailfeathers, or lack thereof — and in moments requiring genuine emotional connection. Though Tad is envious of Birdy’s sky-high potential, Benson’s characterization clearly communicates a deeper struggle to summon his power.

Unlike Tad, Birdy is naturally endowed with the hardware needed to take flight. But an upsetting run-in with a manipulative bully has left the lovebird grounded in malaise and negative self-talk. Birdy doesn’t miss flying, he says. He’s fine to wait around for the Big One to return.

To help these characters navigate that stasis — “You’re hatched with what you have, and that’s all,” Birdy laments — Dowsett, enabled by Karn’s unforgettable prop and costume design, introduces into the play’s universe the power of invention.

Using shoelaces, trading cards, fuzzy noodles, and of course, the magic of duct tape, Tad and Birdy unite to become the leaders of their own flock, using teamwork and mutual encouragement to achieve liftoff on a light, airy and pleasant flight into the big, blue sky, where things are beginning to look up.

winnipegfreepress.com/benwaldman

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