The Bluebird Mechanicals

In The Bluebird Mechanicals, Talya Rubin somehow manages to weave together Chekhov’s The Seagull and the Hindenburg disaster with natural curiosities and talking critters.

The lighting and set design are pure magic.

You feel as though you are part of an immersive art installation combining performance art, puppetry and stunning film projection.

The atmosphere is tense.

Heavy issues are tackled and strange and unnerving characters emerge.

It’s approached with quirky humour, yet the audience was too uncomfortable to laugh.

At 80 minutes, it feels long, which only seems to add to the relentless sense of dread the work creates.

I found myself thinking about it for days after.