In 1939, on the eve of the second world war, two young Cambridge ornithologists arrive on a remote, uninhabited Scottish island, sent by the
Government to survey the island's birds. For Robert, it is the fulfilment of his dream to find the elusive Leach's Petrel - a bird that only makes landfall to breed on outlying islands. For John, it is a chance to learn from his talented mentor.

With them on the island are Kirk, the authoritarian leaseholder, and his niece Ellen, a young woman who dreams of the stars of silent comedy. Left
alone on a scrap of land, surrounded by the vast Atlantic, the boys, Kirk and Ellen observe each other, are drawn together, and, ultimately, take a journey which pushes at the limits of what it is to be human.

Poetic, intense and gripping, Outlying Islands is a glimpse of an innocence, a way of seeing and a way of being young that is about to be destroyed forever.

Outlying Islands is the fourth collaboration between David Greig and director Philip Howard after Europe (1994), The Architect (1996) and The Speculator (1999). David Greig is also a founder member of Suspect Culture (Timeless, Mainstream, Casanova, Lament); his other work for theatre includes the children's play for the Traverse Danny 306 + Me (4 ever) and Victoria (RSC).

I have noticed from the study of maps, the more outlying the island, the further out it is in the remote ocean, the stronger the force that pulls us towards it.

Imagine. Living without time. Because time, Johnny, time belongs to the land. Not to the sea and the air. Imagine entering their world. Imagine that. No beginnings and no endings. Limitless. Imagine departing from the land.