Podcast Reviews: The Birds

 

Dramatized for radio by: Melissa Murray Directed by: Sally Avens

Nat: Neil Dudgeon

Sue: Nicola Walker

Maggie: Jade Williams

Mr. Trigg: Gerald Hin

Jonathan: Carl Groves

Newsreader: John Dougal

Mary: Rachel Babbage

Music and Sound Design: David Pickvance

Length: 60 minutes

This is an horror story based on the battle between the humans and the nature.

It is set in Cornwall UK.

The dialogue is natural, with a fast-paced rhythm supported by the music.

The emotions are heightened by the arrival of a flock of birds into the bedroom of two young boys; screams are heard, emphasized by the insistent flapping of the birds' wings.

The voices convey anxiety: the food supply is running out; they must go out to buy it, but only when the tide is low.

Dozens and dozens of birds peck at the walls of the farmhouse, the noise is deafening.

The ending is a bit weak but open. Nat promises the family to protect them, but the last cigarette smoked by Nat, that is, resignation, is not depicted.

While the production is technically brilliant, the ending feels somewhat hollow compared to the source material. In the original story, the climax is defined by a chilling moment of resignation: Nat smokes his last cigarette while the birds tear through the door, signaling that he has given up hope.

In this adaptation, Nat’s promise to protect his family shifts the tone toward a more conventional "heroic struggle." By omitting the cigarette and the sense of finality it brings, the production loses that haunting, nihilistic edge that makes the story a true masterpiece of atmospheric horror. It leaves the listener with a glimmer of hope that feels slightly at odds with the overwhelming terror.