BIRDS: Alex Hines and Sarah Stafford – Assembly George Square ★★★★★

What a way to finish a Fringe. After a week of political theatre, historical musicals, personal testimony, clowning and spectacle, BIRDS: Alex Hines and Sarah Stafford arrived as the final show in my festival schedule and promptly reminded me why live performance can still feel startlingly original. It is rare to encounter a piece that is simultaneously clever, ridiculous, terrifying and grotesque. Rarer still to find one that balances all four so perfectly. The show bills itself as Waiting for Godot meets Kath & Kim, and that comparison is entirely earned. On a sun-scorched beach, Shayna, a wealthy five-time divorcee, and Beverley, a mother of twelve boys, settle into adjacent deckchairs and begin talking. Then they keep talking. The days stretch into months, perhaps years. Birds fall from the sky. Houses disappear into the sea. Skin melts. Bodies decay. The world appears to be ending. Yet these two women remain fixed in place, chain-smoking, gossiping and discussing almost anything…