How to do things with birds: The Janus effect in theatrical adaptation

This article offers a model for understanding the complexities of how dramaturgy intervenes in the transformative process of adapting a text for the stage. Because it combines three key media for adaptation studies (film, literature and theatre), the primary example for this discussion is the film Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014), directed and co-written by Alejandro G. Iñárritu. My analysis of Birdman and the stage adaptation featured within it (What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, by Raymond Carver) takes inspiration from the Roman god Janus, whose faces look ahead and behind, associating this ancient god with doorways (januae), archways (jani) and beginnings (January). As this article demonstrates, the Janus effect is the transformation that successful dramaturgy makes within the process and product of adaptation for the stage. Recognizing this effect helps us unfurl the multiple layers of interstitial research and creative decisionmaking that adaptations require, especially when crafted for live performance.