Cape theatre picks: December 15 2011

Artscape and the Siyasanga Cape Town Theatre Company present an open-air production of Aristophanes’s The Birds.

Two elderly Athenians, Euelpides and Pisthetaerus, fed up with human treachery and greed, can no longer stomach living in the city among their fellows.

They travel out into the country and, after transforming themselves into birds, team up with other birds and build a city, Cloud Cuckoo Land. Fun and good sense abound in this timeless comedy together with song and dance. Roy Sargeant directs with choreography by Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, costume and mask designs by Keith Anderson and music by Michael ­Tuffin.

Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Newlands, from December 20 until January 15. Book at 021 761 2866 or at the gate. Performances are at 7am, just after dawn, in the Ancient Greek tradition. Bring a sun hat and a cushion.