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Islander

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Conceived by Amy Draper

Music and Lyrics by Finn Anderson

Book by Stewart Melton

July 2021

 

Islander was recognized as the top musical at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and went on to a successful run at the Southwark Theater in London.  Set on an island in Scotland, myth and reality collide when the tide washes a mysterious stranger onto the beach, changing life forever. We are thrilled to bring this extraordinary musical to US audiences for the first time. 

Islander was originally produced in the UK by Helen Milne Productions

 

Enjoy Some Video Highlights!

Video by Buddy Puddle Productions

The Reviews

Cherry and Spoon says: "Islander is a brilliant piece of music-theater and just the kind of thing that Elision excels at. It's a sweet little story, fantastical yet grounded in characters that feel real, and musically gorgeous."

Jay Gabler from Tangential Ruins says: "At the end of the show there was a standing ovation; it was well-earned by the committed actors and their production team, but as Dussault and Wade turned to exchange relieved grins there was a sense that they were also receiving applause on behalf of the thousands of local theater artists who’ve endured the profoundest of barriers to practicing their craft over the past sixteen months." 

Talkin' Broadway says: "Under any conditions, I would highly recommend, both as a new work of musical theater, and for Theatre Elision’s altogether successful production .  Given the fact that this is live, indoor theater after such a long, long time, it is a reason to celebrate."

 

Twin Cities Stages says: "Its central theme of community is timeless but somehow feels more relevant than ever. The lyrics “can you see me, can you hear me” from a song titled Video Call cut so much deeper than they would have 500 days ago."

PostScript says: "In the end, 'The Islander' is just like one of its songs: It thrums with a quiet, wondrous energy and lingers long past the last word is spoken."

Play Off the Page says: ". . .voices blended beautifully, in the haunting melodies and harmonies of Celtic/Island music."

Stages of MN says: "It becomes less an act of watching a performance and feels more like hearing storytelling as it may have been done hundreds of years ago around a fire with words, characters, and songs."

Lettered in Theater says: "This story of folklore is rooted in the important relationships of the characters and this duo brought them to life on stage. With palpable chemistry, every new set of characters they portrayed felt as real and honest as the last one."

Cast & Creative

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Finn Anderson is an award-winning Scottish musical theatre writer, composer and singer-songwriter working throughout the UK and internationally. He wrote the music and lyrics for critically-acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe hit Islander. Part of the “Made In Scotland” showcase, Islander won Musical Theatre Review’s Best Musical award before a transfer to London’s Southwark Playhouse, where the show was nominated for the Off West End Award for Best New Musical. Finn is the recipient of the Cameron Mackintosh Resident Composer Scheme 2020. He has co-created several award-nominated musicals -- City of Dreams, A Mother’s Song, Come Hell or High Water (Citizens Theatre/Sky Arts), Streets (Hackney Empire/The Cockpit/The Vaults, ‘Best New Musical’ nominee, Off West End Awards) and Alba (Edinburgh Fringe, MTM Award nominee). Finn was shortlisted for the 2019 Stiles and Drewe Best New Song Prize.  As a singer-songwriter, he released his debut full-length album Until The Light in 2019. 

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Stewart Melton is a writer, director and dramaturg. He scripted Islander, which was selected for the prestigious "Made In Scotland" showcase and won Musical Theatre Review's Best Musical Award. His play for under 5s, Seesaw, has been staged at London's Unicorn Theatre, in Arabic at the Haya Cultural Center, Amman, and at the National Theatre of Greece. His other scripts include stage adaptations of Dave Shelton's Becketian children's novel A Boy, A Bear and A Boat and Usagi Yojimbo, based on the cult comic book series by Stan Sakai. He has worked as a dramaturg at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Bristol Old Vic, Hull Truck, Ovalhouse and Arcola Theatre. Stewart was a finalist for the JMK Young Directors Award and has staged his scripts Shrapnel at the University of Northampton and Imagine You Are Everyone at the Yard. 

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    Deidre Cochran               Emily Dussault               Christine Wade*

         as Arran                  as Arran (Eilidh U/S)                 as Eilidh

* Member of Actors Equity Association

Production Team

Director/Designer:            Lindsay Fitzgerald

Stage Manager:                Z Makila     

Production Associate:       Constance Brevell

Vocal Director:                  Christine Wade

Sound:                              Harrison Wade

Lighting Designer:            Peter Gustafson

Dialect Coach:                  Jim Ahrens

Photos by Jessica Holleque

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