Design Kinsmen Collective
2019 King's Head Theatre, London
I have noticed that something draws us towards outlying islands. Some force pulls…
1939, Scotland. Two young ornithologists arrive on a remote island, tasked by the government to conduct a simple study of the bird population. With only the island’s authoritarian leaseholder and his niece for company, they find themselves drawn to the wild isolation of the place and begin to suspect their mission is not all it seems.
As the clouds of war gather over Europe, one rocky outcrop in the vast Atlantic can decide its own fate. Boundaries begin to crumble. Life becomes beautiful and strange.
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Nobody really knows we’re here.
We can do as we please. We’re alone.
Dead to the world and —
Free.
Following 2018's acclaimed production of Steven Berkoff’s EAST, Atticist returned to the King’s Head Theatre with the first London revival of David Greig’s OUTLYING ISLANDS since its Olivier-winning Royal Court run almost twenty years ago. Blurring the lines between fantasy and reality, Greig’s poetic, funny, and politically-charged play explores a society on the edge of immense change.
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KIRK/CAPTAIN Ken Drury
JOHN Jack McMillan
ELLEN Rose Wardlaw
ROBERT Tom Machell
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Director Jessica Lazar
Movement Director Jennifer Fletcher
Assistant Director Charlie Norburn (King's Head Theatre Trainee Director)
Stage Manager Timothy Kelly
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Set & Costume Design Anna Lewis
Lighting Design David Doyle
Sound Design Christopher Preece
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Producers Bridie Bischoff, David Doyle, and Tom Ford
Assistant Producer Jennifer Davis
Publicist Chloé Nelkin Consulting
Atticist’s OUTLYING ISLANDS was nominated for Off West End Awards’ Best Production, with Rose Wardlaw nominated for Best Female in a Play. The play received 6 ★★★★★ and 14 ★★★★ reviews, including:
★★★★★ Everything Theatre: ‘As near perfect as a play can get…Jessica Lazar’s taut direction, complemented by Jennifer Fletcher’s nimble movement direction and Christopher Preece’s evocative sound design, combine to create a compelling, witty, and at times devastating drama.’
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★★★★★ Theatre Weekly : ‘A truly captivating production, authentically staged and beautifully performed.’
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★★★★★ A Younger Theatre: ‘visually stunning and ethically challenging, and grapples with some immense questions. In my opinion, it’s hard to want much more.’
★★★★★ North West End: ‘With twinges of Lord of the Flies and a dash of D.H. Lawrence this is a potent, intoxicating play that takes hold of the audience, clutches you tight, wrings you out and makes you stand back in awe… an incredibly atmospheric and intimate production.’
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★★★★ The Reviews Hub: ‘This is a long overdue revival, given a production that never loosens its grip…Director Jessica Lazar’s engrossing, strongly atmospheric production manages the play’s rapidly shifting moods seemingly effortlessly.’
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★★★★ The Spy in the Stalls: ‘an exceptional piece of dramatic writing, and Atticist’s intense and intelligent revival serves it well…Jessica Lazar’s accomplished direction brings out the very best in her four-strong cast’.
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★★★★ BritishTheatre.com: ‘A few years after writing Outlying Islands, Greig wrote that he wanted to create theatre that “tore at the fabric of reality and opened up the possibilities of the imagination”. This new production, intelligently directed by Jessica Lazar, captures that drive to push at the boundaries of reality to explore themes around our place as individuals in relation to society and nature. Still fresh and vivid, this is a long overdue revival.’
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