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Swoop: Competition Version by Lindsay Price play script cover

Swoop: Competition Version

adapted by Lindsay Price from The Birds by Aristophanes

Competition Version!

No laws. Just wings.

This high-energy play blends absurd humour and universal questions of control and conformity as it reimagines the Ancient Greek comedy The Birds for a modern audience.

Two fed-up clowns, Persi and Goho, reject the restrictive rules of Athens and venture into the wild to seek total freedom. What begins as a comic complaint about laws escalates into a revolutionary proposal: a city in the sky where birds are king. Or so they think. What happens when a clown decides they want total control? Are freedom and power the same thing?

A dynamic chorus of birds and opportunities for inventive costumes, masks and physical comedy. Lots of doubling options!

Comedy Classical Adaptation

Also available in a one-act version here.

Recommended for High Schools and Middle Schools

At a Glance

Running Time
About 30 minutes
Approximate; excludes intermissions and scene changes
Cast
15 Characters
3 M1 F11 Any Gender, Plus Chorus of Birds. Doubling Possible,
Set
Simple set
Length
26 pages
Free Excerpt

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Performance Royalty Fees

Royalty fees apply to all performances whether or not admission is charged. Any performance in front of an audience (e.g. an invited dress rehearsal) is considered a performance for royalty purposes.

Exemption details for scenes and monologues for competition.

15 Characters

3 M, 1 F, 11 Any Gender, Plus Chorus of Birds. Doubling Possible,

Characters in this play are currently identified as male or female. Directors are welcome to assign any gender (binary or non-binary) to any character and modify pronouns accordingly.

PERSI (PERSUASION) [M] 167 lines
Goes by Persi. A clown who wants to escape from Athens’ rules & laws.
GOHO (GOOD HOPE) [A] 87 lines
Goes by Goho. A clown who wants to escape from Athens’ rules & laws.
SHOEBILL [A] 24 lines
Servant to Terry Pops.
POPS [A] 33 lines
A bird who was once human, and is now king of the birds, though no one treats him like a king.
CHORUS OF BIRDS [A] 46 lines
As many as your stage can handle. This crowd is violent at first, then deferential.
CHORUS MEMBERS (3) [A] 11 lines
Individual speakers from the Chorus of Birds.
POET [A] 5 lines
Claims to be the official poet of Cloud Cuckoo Land.
PROPHET [A] 6 lines
Claims to be the official prophet of Cloud Cuckoo Land.
A PARRICIDE [A] 3 lines
Wants to be a bird. And kill their father.
A BARD [A] 3 lines
Wants to be a bird. And sing.
PROM [A] 11 lines
Has important information, but is also hiding from Zeus.
ARTEMIS [F] 10 lines
An ambassador. Goddess of the Hunt.
HERACLES [A] 0 lines
An ambassador. A barbarian god. Speaks only gibberish.

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