The upcoming production of “The Conference of the Birds” at the Folger Theatre is noteworthy, first because the play is rarely produced. “I can’t find evidence of it being done in a traditional, professional production since Peter Brook did it in New York in 1980,” said Aaron Posner, the director.

Second, “Conference” is an extraordinary play, a dramatization by Brook and Jean-Claude Carri?re of a 12-century Sufi text about the search for meaning in the universe, using a mixture of music, dance, poetry, philosophy and humor in the service of a serious subject.