7.2 /10 1 Votes7.2
Original language English First performance 2002 Composer Gavin Marwick | 3.6/5 Goodreads Date premiered 2002 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Similar David Greig plays, Dramas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The cast and director of outlying islands talk about their first week
Synopsis
Set on a remote Scottish island in the summer of 1939, two ornithologists – young, impulsive and English Robert and the more-conservative-yet naive Scottish John – are sent to catalogue the bird colonies on the island. Together with the stern lease-holder of the island, Mr Kirk, and his young niece Ellen, they are the only inhabitants for the summer.
The play ruthlessly uncovers the motivations of its characters, resulting in a painful triangle between John, Robert and Ellen. It is about nature versus technology, old versus new, with the threat of the coming world war looming over it all.
Production
The play was first published and performed in 2002 and won a Fringe First award and a Herald Angel award after its premiere at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland, during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It was revived at the Traverse in October 2014.