Twenty years on from its Olivier Award-winning premier, David Greig's Outlying Islands has been adapted for the Jermyn Street stage, a compact 70-seat theatre, perfect for this production set on the confines of an island.
It's August 1939 on a remote island off Scotland. We are positioned in the middle of war, with two young scientists studying bird life, on a mission from the government. The story follows Robert (Bruce Langley) and John's (Fred Woodley-Evans) journey at the start of their time on the island upon meeting Kirk (Kevin McMonagle), the island's leaseholder, and their developing relationship with his niece, Ellen (Whitney Kehinde) who both men find themselves intrigued by. We are weaved through the horrors of the truth of the mission, the complex feelings of the characters that have been carefully intertwined, and the tensions of what this all means.
The set is multidimensional; the main stage is set in an old Chapel with just a desk, some stools, and a fire. While this is where the main action takes place - the tensions, debates, and pivotal events of the play - there is also a background set of the island and sea, where we see the two men capturing the birds, or where Ellen has her monologues. This has been cleverly placed by set designer Anna Lewis seemingly to build more of a picture of the island and to show the movements of the character in the action, so as not to have everything taking place in the Chapel. The set was also simple in its props which was effection to show the remoteness of the setting, and to draw us more into the characters. Sound Designer Christopher Preece also did a great job with the background sounds of the storms and birds to build up tension during the dialogue.
Directed by Jessica Lazar, each character has a different personality and dimensions to them; they are complex and interesting. Both men have a serious philosophical element to them, while also being humorous too. Ellen's character comes across as closed off and shy at the start, but by the end is a shocking open character, which we see more of in the second half.
Before the interval, Ellen has a monologue that sets up the unusual events of the second half, and takes us away contrastingly from the shocking event we'd witnessed just before. Ellen performed the monologue excellently, with the use of her quiet emotive voice and urgent hand expressions - she was a brilliant actor and did the role justice.
The play was much funnier than I anticipated, with Johnny's random outbursts, the scenes with Kirk at the start, and the singing around the table, to name a few. As an audience, we are invited to laugh, as well as sit in silent shock, as we watch the scenes unfold.
Outlying Islands will be at Jermyn Street Theatre until 15th March 2025.
Review: Cara Scott Photo: Alex Brenner