The Early Bird (play)

Michael Billington of The Guardian said (of the 2010 production) that "though a bit too cryptic for its own good, what really makes the play unnerving is the lingering suggestion that Kimberley's disappearance may be the consequence, as well as the source, of parental trauma." [4] While Skye Crawford of Fringe Review claimed that "Butler’s intrinsic understanding of humanity, warts and all, cements his place as one of the 21st Century’s great playwrights", commenting that the play "speaks loudly and clearly about this delicate subject matter experienced by so many parents world wide." [5]

Kate Bassett of The Independent praised the "electrifying" show, while commenting that "there are only faint echoes of Jamie Bulger and Madeleine McCann", instead suggesting that "The Early Bird bears some resemblance to Ian McEwan's The Child in Time."[6] Susan Conley of Irish Theatre Magazine said of the 2010 Dublin production that "given such high profile cases as have concerned Madaleine McCann and the Soham Two, we have found ourselves witness to the pain and frozen horror of men and women who have had their offspring robbed from their lives, and one can’t help but speculate about what happens behind closed doors. What do they talk about? Can they talk about anything but the event? Do they blame one another? Do they have sex? Is their relationship completely destroyed? Butler’s piece isn’t really interested in these questions, and gives us an artful, if distant, portrayal of a psyche of a couple rather than imagining their reality. This is not a kitchen sink play — it’s about the stuff in the drains."[7]