Outlying Islands (play)

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Outlying Islands is a play by David Greig, set on a remote Scottish island in the summer of 1939. Two ornithologists - young, impulsive and English Robert and the more conservative yet naive Scottish John - are sent to catalogue the bord colonies on the island. Together with the stern lease-holder of the island, Mr Kirk, and his young niece Ellen, they are the only inhabitants for the summer.

Outlying Islands ruthlessly uncovers the motivations of its characters, resulting in a painful triangle between John, Robert and Ellen. It's about nature versus technology, old versus new, with the threat of the coming war looming over it all.

The play was first published and performed in 2002 and won the Best New Play Award in 2003 at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh.