A MOB of white cockatoos descend on a suburban street and secrets begin to unravel in The Cockatoos, Patrick White’s Nobel Literature Prize-winning novella.
Described as a “slow beautiful dance of love and death” it’s a tale of exclusion and belonging, says local director Andrew Hale who has turned the short story into a stage play.
Central characters Mick and Olive haven’t spoken to each other in seven years, after Olive arrived home from a weekend away to find the budgie dead.
The real reason they aren’t talking is gradually revealed, but in the book it required a bit of re-reading, Hale says.
“Which you can’t do in a play, so part of the adaptation is why these characters are what they are.”
Two stories
The Cockatoos is really two stories in one as paths cross and a second main character is eight-year-old Tim, who with his ninth birthday coming up, decides to test his courage by spending the night alone in the park.
“The two stories converge,” Hale says.
The cast of six plays a variety of characters—and collectively Tim, as his fears and hopes are revealed as also those of the adults: “He is a universal character.”
Presented by Happy Dagger Theatre The Cockatoos is on at the Blue Room Theatre, until November 7. Tix at blueroom.org.au or on 9227 7005.
Perth Voice Interactive 
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