It’s the final week to see Musical Theatre Review award-winning and Offies-nominated new musical Islander. And, after its premiere at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, it’s racked another wave of critical raves in its London transfer to Southwark Playhouse. We’ve rounded up a selection of review highlights. Time to get booking – before it’s too late!
Eilidh stares out to sea and dreams of a new life beyond her lonely island. Myth and reality collide when the tide washes a mysterious stranger onto her beach, changing her life forever. Epic storytelling intimately staged with a contemporary Scottish folk-inspired score.
Conceived and directed by Amy Draper, with a book by Stewart Melton and music and lyrics by Finn Anderson, Islander explores themes of loss, identity, migration and home. It was created on the Isle of Mull and is inspired by the sights, sounds and smells of the wind-beaten and wave-struck Western Isle.
Two actors – Kirsty Findlay and Bethany Tennick – play a host of characters while weaving, building and layering their voices using looping technology to create an expansive, ethereal soundscape.
Islander runs until 26 October 2019 at Southwark Playhouse, 77-85 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BD, with performances Mondays to Saturdays at 8pm, with matinees Tuesdays and Saturdays at 3.30pm. Tickets are priced £14-22. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE!
Review highlights
Miriam Gillinson: “Bethany Tennick and Kirsty Findlay weave theatrical magic in this entrancing tale of the last child left on a remote island… What an exceptionally thoughtful new musical this is, and how imaginatively realised… It’s a special kind of theatrical magic.”
Johnny Fox: “A perfectly finished piece, like a stone polished by the waves… It’s an unusual, experimental musical piece which works against all expectations as a show with only two voices and no band or backing track, just an ingenious sound looping device.”
Musical Theatre Review – ★★★★★
Clare Walters: “The two performers are utterly versatile and stay in close communication throughout… The result is well worth our rapt attention. This is storytelling and musical theatre at its best.”
Amy Toledano: “Touching, heart-wrenching and totally original, Islander is the exploration of the turmoil and devastation of small communities in the light of gentrification.”
“Finn Anderson’s stunning score is performed beautifully… There is nothing simple about the task they undertake. Everything they do is carefully choreographed, with a mind-boggling number of buttons to hit and pedals to press in addition to the constant character-changing… They don’t miss a beat… Ingenious concept.”
Grace Walsh: “An evening of spellbinding entertainment… This two-woman tour de force is a marvellous juggling act for both Tennick and Findlay, as they bring to life Finn Anderson’s impressive Scottish-folk inspired score in perfect harmony through loop and pedal… A unique theatrical experience.”
Mark Ludmon: “Using sound, music and words, Islander transports you to a windswept isle off the coast of Scotland, located somewhere between myth and the everyday… A flawless gem lasting only an hour, it is a modern folk tale that is hard not to fall in love with.”
Musical Theatre Review – ★★★★★
Chris Grady: “Here we have a completely new myth fashioned from the fear of losing our way of life in an island community, and the ineffable feeling that there is some way we have lost touch with the sea, our fellow creatures, and the way this planet can sustain new life.”
Maggie Kelly: “There is nothing as mesmerising as effortless talent. Breathtaking, quiet, simple and utterly effortless… Islander has an ancient feel to it, an atmosphere connected to the distant grey skies and seas, created from the very breaths and hums of the human voice.”
“This is a musical, but not like one I have ever seen before. As in any musical, the characters sing the story and conversations, but this becomes a rich and powerful experience for the audience.”
Miles Hurley: “From a technical theatrical perspective, this show is extraordinary – not a movement, word or note is wasted… above all, Islander is utterly heartwarming, and executes all of its ideas with magnificent aplomb.”
Mark Fisher: “The sense of people struggling to find equilibrium with their environment is strong. Written by Stewart Melton and directed by Amy Draper with elemental grace, it’s a gorgeous production, rich in wit, musicality and transformation.”
Tim Bano: “Folklore and myth are brought dizzyingly up to date in Finn Anderson and Stewart Melton’s live-layered musical, using just two voices and loop pedals. Although a new piece of work, it feels timeless, like an archetype or folk tale.”
Jessie Catherine: “Far from your average sing-a-long musical, this production weaves new life into the form, layering myth and reality, with a contemporary Scottish folk-inspired score. Using voices and vocal loops, the company tell a tale which gives a flavour of Scottish island life.”
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