Winnipeg’s Manitoba Theatre for Young People (MTYP) presented the world premiere of a new play, Tad & Birdy, on Jan. 30. Written by Gimli-raised playwright Anika Dowsett and directed by Erin McGrath, the play follows the titular characters Tad the tadpole (Hera Nalam) and Birdy the lovebird (Samuel Benson), who form an unlikely friendship when they meet in a messy bedroom. 

“The play starts with Tad being brought in in a jar and hatching, and then asking ‘Where am I? What’s going on?’ And the play is just about their friendship and learning from one another and helping each other grow,” Dowsett explained.  

Dowsett has been interested in theatre from a young age. After studying theatre at the University of Winnipeg, they found that they wanted to create worlds and be a visionary. This led them to study playwriting under playwright Brian Drader, and they fell in love with the art. Dowsett has worked at MTYP for some time in various roles, ranging from box office to theatre instructor and assistant, which inspired them to write theatre for youth.  

“Part of why I like writing for youth is that it’s really honest and fun and playful. Those are qualities that I love in art,” they reflected. 

Dowsett came up with the idea for Tad & Birdy through MTYP’s Sandbox program. One day, MTYP’s artistic director, Pablo Felices-Luna, gave Dowsett and the other creators in the program an exercise to draw a children’s song from a hat and pitch a play inspired by that song. 

“My song was about a little tadpole in a bog,” they recalled. “And for some reason, I immediately was like, ‘Tadpole. [In a] little boy’s room, in a jar, with a bird.’ And then [I] wrote the outline in 15 minutes and then went from there.”

According to Dowsett, the play’s characters represent the two sides of their own personality if they tried to talk to each other. They described Tad as “kind, optimistic and curious,” while Birdy is “jaded,” but eager to share their knowledge with someone who will listen. 

“I think of Birdy as the eight-year-old on the playground who’s been at school for a while and kind of knows what’s going on, or at least thinks that they know […] and then Tad is this wide-eyed five-year-old who’s just started school, who’s so impressed with Birdy and has no idea what anything is,” they said.

The world premiere of Tad & Birdy, presented by Manitoba Theatre for Young People, opened on Jan. 30 and runs through Feb. 7. For tickets and more information, visit mtyp.ca.