‘Ostrich in the Room’ at The Larking House

OC Theatre Guild
3 hours ago
4 min read

The Absurdity of Modern Relationships Explored in New Play

From left, Rachel Bailey, Coleman Summers, and Jessica Schreiber. Photo courtesy of Jarid McCarthy

By Shannon Cudd

Imagine trying to connect with your partner and an ostrich interrupts by knocking at the door. No, this is not a fever dream but a scene from The Larking House’s world premiere production of “Ostrich in the Room.” This exciting new work by Seanan Palmero Waugh explores the complexities of romantic relationships.

The plot of the play borders on nonlinear and is circularly episodic in nature. It follows a couple navigating whether or not to attend a work party together when the unexpected ostrich arrives. The script does not name the couple, simply calling one A and describing them as the head-ish one and B, the heart-ish one. Director Jarid McCarthy describes the play as an “absurdist sitcom” and believes audiences will relate to it.

“Ostrich” was first workshopped by the company in 2020. Developing new works is an integral part of The Larking House’s mission.

“Fifty percent of our season every year consists of new or world premiere plays. Our Playwright's Intensive Program is known and sought out by writers from all over the world and is our longest-running program in the organization,” Executive Founding Artistic Director Lizzy McCabe explained. She also serves as the production’s sound designer.

McCabe cannot say enough good things about the script.

“It is, to date, one of my favorite scripts we have worked on thus far and it is a huge honor to be able to produce its world premiere,” she gushed.

From left, Coleman Summers, Rachel Bailey, and Jessica Schreiber. Photo courtesy of Jarid McCarthy

McCarthy has been involved with “Ostrich” since its workshop days. He values his partnership with Waugh, who was involved in preproduction talks and the first week of rehearsals.

McCarthy explained Waugh was inspired by Caryl Churchill’s “Heart's Desire” and “Traps.” She was also influenced by the work of Harold Pinter.

Another layer to this play is the freedom Waugh gave the director.

“It's written kind of open-endedly. She has a goal for it to be a piece that can pair really well in a repertory season and fit whatever needs a company has. And because it's about relationships, it is so strong that you can cast it with any sort of dynamic,” McCarthy stated.

McCarthy's visual inspirations for the play include game shows, puppet shows and cartoons. “The play has this really interesting description of the set being a room in which people live, so it kind of has this weird alienating thing where everything is normal, but kind of not normal,” he mused.

Movement and timing are big elements of this play.

“There's a lot of choreography we have to do, not just the tap dancing but also moving some of the furniture around. There's choreography of the board games even,” McCarthy stated.

This brings us back to the ostrich in the room.

“The ostrich itself is a pretty clear metaphor here for the way in which we avoid the things that are true and honest about ourselves and each other," McCabe mused. “The show uses the activity of playing simple games like tic-tac-toe and checkers to demonstrate this as well. Waugh has really written a remarkable observation about the things we do, the lengths we will go to and the roles we take on to get along in our lives. This play forces the characters and the audience to confront that head-on.”

McCarthy agrees adding: “I feel the ostrich is the epitome of what the couple's problem is. They are this outside force, but they also very much are coming from somewhere in their inability to face each other.”

McCarthy believes audiences should see the show not only because it's a funny take on relationships but also because it's timely.

“It's really prevalent right now, speaks a lot to pressures we have and distractions that we face when we're just trying to do our day-to-day thing and have a nice little time at home. People will recognize themselves in it.”

McCabe agreed and couldn’t help but praise the script one more time.

“‘Ostrich’” is unlike anything else being produced in OC right now or, honestly, kind of ever. It is bold and absurd and silly and poignant in unexpected ways. The design is wacky and inspired and the whole production is just a really great display of talent and courage from our whole team,” she gushed.

She admits the structure of the piece may take a minute for audiences to adjust to but knows the work will be worth it in the end.

“And while I believe that it will be a piece that will challenge audiences with its format, I think it will be something really special to witness and people will leave feeling very connected and impacted by the story. It is unique pieces like this that really set my soul on fire about new plays and producing new work and man, I just really love this script,” she concluded.

Don’t bury your head in the sand — this 90-minute wild ride won’t let you look away.