David Greig’s 2002 play is a must-see. Firstly, because it is, very simply, wonderfully written. The story is simple, too, with a couple of ornithologists working in a remote location. But the play itself is richly complex – full of surprises I don’t want to spoil – with startling questions and big ideas.
This production boasts an expert crew. Director Jessica Lazar has worked on the play before, along with designers Anna Lewis, David Doyle, Christopher Preece and movement director Jennifer Fletcher, whose work all matches the elegance of the source material. Their experience shows, but Lazar’s approach remains fresh, bringing out humour and environmental concerns with extra force. This is a script that’s aging very well indeed.
A good deal of tension is fleshed out, primarily with the character of Robert and his fraught take on life. He’s a fantastic creation, brought to life by Bruce Langley. The dialogue is full of nerves and analysis, descriptions of the body that are, themselves, dissected. It’s a surprise how uncomfortable his scientific sense make us – Robert is blunt, “perpetually insulting” and a maverick. Langley gives him schoolboy charm, but is he dangerous, too?
Robert is certainly captivating. Ellen, one of only two inhabitants on the island, falls for him. And she is Greig’s second brilliant portrait, one that Whitney Kehinde performs in all its complexity. The young woman’s vivid fantasy life connects to themes of technology – she’s an avid cinema-goer – but the steps she takes to realise her desires are startling. Living “in and out of dreams”, Kehinde powerfully combines the mystical and animalistic.
Robert’s friend and colleague John completes a triangle. A difficult role that newly graduated Fred Woodley Evans manages to make more than a foil. It’s John who remembers that a boat is coming to take them back to society. But talk of ‘decency’ becomes increasingly shrill as the play builds to its tense conclusion. How much the audience identifies with John is left open, just as it should be.
None of this considers the considerable humour in the play. A final brilliant performance comes from Kevin McMonagle as Ellen’s uncle, whose description of London as a gannetry s laugh-out-loud funny. Just as remarkable is how Outlying Islands is a ‘period’ play, set just before World War II, whose advent is explored, but with none of the usual clichés. Lazar’s triumph is to appreciate that a piece this good will never have a definitive version. Greig’s work is observed by her, interpretations are made, but it is clear that there will always be more to offer.
Until 15 March 2025
Photos by Alex Brenner
