“Jessica Lazar’s accomplished direction brings out the very best in her four-strong cast, and it is clear how grounded they each feel in the play’s reality”
David Greig’s Outlying Islands was first produced in 2002, and has not been seen in London since then. It is an exceptional piece of dramatic writing, and Atticist’s intense and intelligent revival serves it well.
It is 1939; John and Robert are two keen young ornithologists, fresh out of Cambridge, who have been sent by ‘the Ministry’ to study and document the extraordinary and hitherto unexamined bird population on a remote island in the Outer Hebrides. They will spend four weeks on the island – 40 miles from the nearest inhabited land – with no radio and no boat. Their only company will be the island’s leaseholder and his niece. The stage is thus set for a compelling play examining our relationship with wildness – in nature, in ourselves, and in one another. What happens to us when we are divorced from conventional societal mores? What is the role of science in our understanding of the natural world? The play is set at the outset of a long and bloody world war, in which millions of people are set to die; many of them young men, with an unwavering sense of faith and moral duty. What do those things actually mean? And what is it, really, to be free? These are big questions, and it takes a playwright at the height of their powers to wrestle with them without sacrificing humour, warmth and the wonderful messiness of being human. David Greig is that writer here, and is supported by deft direction and design and a very able cast.
The production design perfectly reflects the island’s peculiar and seductive mix of austerity and profound, instinctive, animal, pleasure. There is nothing showy here, and yet we are continually aware – not least owing to Christopher Preece’s excellent sound design – of the wind, the waves, the birds, and the earthy warmth and comfort of the disused chapel. The huge wooden door, which separates the two worlds, dominates the set, and although the boys’ early slapstick interaction with it didn’t quite convince, it nonetheless remains a powerful physical metaphor throughout the piece, and the dangerous energy of the liminal space is palpable when the door is held open for a time in the gathering storm of the play’s second half.
Jessica Lazar’s accomplished direction brings out the very best in her four-strong cast, and it is clear how grounded they each feel in the play’s reality. Jack McMillan is heartbreakingly believable as John – full of sweetness and enthusiasm, but ultimately unable to break through the many societal constrictions placed on him. By way of contrast, Tom Machell’s Robert is incisive, impulsive, mercurial; at home in this wild place from the moment he steps off the boat. Ken Drury is a splendid hoary presence as Kirk, and demonstrates considerable skill in his later transformation into the upright English Captain come to take the boys home, and the island’s lease-holders back to the mainland. And surrounded by all these men – a new circumstance for this solitary, cinema-loving creature – Ellen ultimately makes the island her own. Rose Wardlaw gives an extraordinary performance, and is utterly mesmerising throughout. As we watch her fill her lungs with air, stretch out her cramped wings and embrace the wildness within her, we too are transported to a place of dangerous possibility.
Outlying Islands is Atticist’s second production at the King’s Head, after its barnstorming revival of Steven Berkoff’s East, and its first as an Associate Company. It marks a fantastic beginning to an exciting artistic partnership; long may it continue.
As Steven Berkoff’s East continues to get rave reviews at the King’s Head Theatre, we talk to its director,
Jessica Lazar
Can you give a brief synopsis of Steven Berkoff’s East?
East premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1975 and then transferred to the King’s Head Theatre. It’s inspired by Berkoff’s experience of growing up in the East End, and we’re thrown into the lives of five characters … but it’s not a linear narrative, so it’s difficult to say more without giving too much away. It’s full of brilliantly weird interior worlds. Everyone is living moment by moment and we’re swept along with them.
What made you want to revive East?
East is full of passion and wit and energy and frustration. Several of its themes have (to our shame) acute contemporary relevance, but it’s also a very funny play. Everything is heightened – physically, emotionally, intellectually – but everything has to be kept in balance. So it demands a lot from a theatre company; those challenges were immensely appealing to us.
How does it feel to be bringing East back to the King’s Head Theatre where it originally made its London debut? Was it intentional?
Yes, it was … The King’s Head are very aware of their heritage and responsive to it, so creating a new version of one of their early successes has been a really fun and interesting process for all of us. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, the theatre suits the play. We’ve learnt unexpected things about East simply from working in that space (although of course the studio has changed in 40 years). And now it’s also likely to be one of the last shows in that King’s Head building, the production has become quite poignant: we’re the last company who will have the opportunity to restage East in its original space.
Do you think East is still relevant to a 21st-century audience, even though the play is now 43 years old?
Definitely. We took the deliberate decision not to stage East as a period piece. This came from the text of the play: its full of calculated contradictory references about when it’s set – an amusing if obscure puzzle alongside casual jokes about time-space trajectories and the Theory of Relativity …Anna Lewis’s design supports this interpretation, especially in the costuming (since we’re working in thrust). The cast could walk down Upper Street in their costumes and no one would blink because modern fashion is more a blend of different times than it’s ever been. So, if you look at individual items there’s vintage mixing with high street, a 60s miniskirt worn with a 90s scrunchie; a popped 50s rockabilly collar with skinny jeans and boots from the 80s. Or, to give another example, at one point our movement director Yvan Karlsson mixes dance styles from several decades to create a club scene.
East has acute general relevance – from stagnant social mobility, gentrification, to the equality and abuse of women, rampant political populism, and racist scapegoating – but it has subjective resonance too. The characters are powerfully individual, but they’re also almost archetypes who could be functioning in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s … they survive today. Their emotions, their relationships, their ambition and frustration and desire, are eternal.
East is known for it’s complex, Shakespearean-like language; did this bring any difficulties to the rehearsal process?
That’s something I love working with as a director, and East is so well written that it guides the speaker through the text if they’re alive to its vocabulary and rhythm. To allow us time to work the text and play with it, I met with each of the cast for a few intensive individual sessions before the main rehearsal process started (since we knew the staging would be demanding). The only real challenge we foresaw was casting: finding people who would thrive on the demands of the text as well as the physical demands of the production was something that Yvan and I were concerned about. But casting director Stephen Moore was magnificent. Fully understanding our requirements and incredibly sensitive to them, he helped us find a highly engaged, intelligent, and physically creative cast who give an unapologetic commitment to every moment.
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In four words, can you describe the main themes of the play?
Dreams. Desire. Rebellion. London.
Is there a character within East that particularly resonates with you? If so, why?
That’s really hard to say. If you know the play I imagine you’d expect me to say Sylv, and that’s true up to a point. She does resonate with all the women in the company because she’s negotiating some incredibly frustrating gender expectations, petty (and not so petty) sexual harassment on a daily basis, and other issues you’d really hope weren’t still so familiar for women in 2018. But Mike’s optimism and ability to live in the moment are also strangely appealing, as is Les’s desire to better himself – his ambition and energy. As its director, I have to find a way in with every character.
What do you hope the audience take away with them?
We want them to be entertained but also challenged. Occasionally shocked. East has some very uncomfortable moments, which often come out of nowhere. It’s not a play where you’re supposed to trust the characters, or believe they’re justified in all their actions or opinions, although you might be brutally charmed by them. So if you left with a straightforward uncomplicated liking for any of them – total approval – there would be something wrong. But likewise, you shouldn’t be able to dismiss them…
Are there any plans to take your production of East anywhere else after this run?
I think it’s a case of seeing how it goes. The challenges of a subsequent run would include the fact we decided to stage it in thrust, and in an unusual thrust configuration at that. It’s also such a perfect fit for the King’s Head in other ways, like their shared history, and the atmosphere of the pub which leads you to the theatre. If a really interesting and fitting opportunity existed we’d love to take that on, but, if not, we’re having a great run and we’ll just enjoy that. They are, however, all actors I would love to have the opportunity to work with again.
Putting East to one side, do you have any other exciting projects in the pipeline for the upcoming year?
Atticist has a few projects at various stages of development… one of which it is hoping to produce later this year and which I’ve been developing as a director, together with David Doyle. It’s an astonishing documentary and verbatim piece about a series of murders in Dublin in 1982 – we’re very excited about it and it will be a huge challenge. Beyond that, we’re all freelancers so are seeking interesting opportunities and new collaborations all the time.
