By: Darryl Reilly
“I am a singing bird from the East, a colorful singing bird” begins venerable playwright Bina Sharif’s ravishing, dreamy, and hard-edged “poem play” Stream of Consciousness of Singing Birds. “I don’t fly anymore; my wings have been clipped. I am injured.” “Get new wings…”
Resplendent in a shimmering gold-centric gown, the radiant Ms. Sharif portrays her poignant character Bulbul, a disaffected bird who encounters several contrary figures during her surrealistic odyssey. “You charge people for talking? Why should I pay you, I am always talking!” she says to a snide psychologist. “Suicide can be a choice” is one of his sardonic bromides.
Stream of Consciousness of Singing Birds is the newst and among the richest of Sharif’s latter small-scale one-act plays; she began writing and performing in the 1980s. It is comprised of brief scenes which lightheartedly and bluntly dramatize her perpetual theme of the idealistic artist beaten down by craven materialists. The wounded bird is a metaphor for the crushed nonconformist. Melancholy and absurdism abound; the effervescent dialogue is mostly comic, yet profound. The current state of the world is obliquely referenced during this edgy fantasia.
Whether beautifully singing in Farsi, delivering lines with her innate, eternal spriteliness, or simply beaming when not speaking, the magnetic Sharif delivers a majestic and affective performance.
Sharif’s husband and long-time collaborator, the distinguished actor Kevin Mitchell Martin co-stars in several roles. With his twinkling presence, expressive voice, and distinctive speech patterns he is the perfect foil to channel Sharif’s counterculture sensibility. Mr. Martin is Cardinal, another singing bird who is from the West; he grandly performs “Strangers in the Night.” With delicious hauteur Martin is the icy crass therapist, “You must go now, I have another sucker waiting…
I didn’t fit in; I never got a part…Drama might be the only thing to save me…
A key scene takes place at a drama school. We learn that the two birds are actually the fantastical alter egos of a failed actress and an inconsequential acting teacher. “Before England I was from New Jersey” Martin pompously intones in his priceless characterization which hilariously embodies a legion of imperious thespian gurus.
The contained deep stage with its stark black brick backwall is set with a few choice chairs and a sofa. Sharif’s exquisite, picturesque staging has her and Martin sitting or standing often apart from each other eventually in varying locations. The presentation is further enhanced by Alexander Bartenieff’s mesmerizing lighting design. Sharif and Martin speak while boldly spotlighted in surrounding dimness, following swirling blackouts they are elsewhere. At times there are fiery crimson hues contributing to the moodiness. Mr. Bartenieff’s sound design renders effects and music with lilting clarity.
Adding to the supreme theatricality is virtuoso drummer Eric Blitz’s live superior musicianship. Blitz is in a corner off to the side playing throughout, highlighting textual passages with drumming and playing cymbals. This achieves the dimension of being at a 1950’s beatnik nightclub where declarations were accompanied by rythmic percussion.
Stream of Consciousness of Singing Birds’ conclusion is haunting. Sharif and Martin sit together in the distance bathed in red lighting. “You were born the two most unimportant people” proclaims The “Voice of Revelation” (via audio recording) at the downtrodden duo during this pivotal Shavian-style speech which is laden with harsh takedowns of them in relation to their place against upper class New York City society. Martin voices this eerie screed in a light Irish accent connoting the piece’s Beckettian roots.
Amidst the enchanting Stream of Consciousness of Singing Birds’ whimsy is universal heartbreak.
Life is an unending song, a song of pain…Life just passes by, and makes no sense in the end…
“Stream of Consciousness of Singing Birds is my 39th play. Many of these one-acts were performed at Limbo Lounge, ABC No Rio, Dixon Place, NO SE NO club, and P.S. 122” writes Sharif in her program notes citing those yesteryear Lower East Side venues. It is dedicated to her brother, his wife, and Sharif’s sister, all of whom died in the last four years.
This work is performed at the Theater for the New City, Sharif’s longtime artistic haven. Stream of Consciousness of Singing Birds’ backstory is inspiring; it was postponed a few times due to Sharif’s various health issues and was given a reading at an East Village café in May 2025. Now, we look forward to Bina Sharif’s 40th play.
Stream of Consciousness of Singing Birds (through October 25, 2026)
Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue, in Manhattan
For tickets, visit www.theaterforthenewcity.net
Running time: 65 minutes with no intermission