Islander Conceived & Originally Directed by Amy Draper, Stage & Associate Direction by Eve Nicol, Book by Steward Melton, Music and Lyrics by Finn Anderson. Seattle Rep through 19 November.
Let me first deal with the now-standard frustrations with parking up near the Seattle Center. Usually the LB and I park in a small parking lot in a nearby bank. This time, all the slots were filled and there was a sign saying that Event Parking was $20. OK, we went to our backup site half a block away, which was full with a sign saying that Event Parking was $40. So we hit the large parking garage near the Climate Pledge Arena, where Event Parking was $70. We quickly tweaked that something was going on at the arena, and hit a garage on the other side of the Center, near the opera house. Cost there was $25, had copious free space, and a living human being was taking the money at the gate. Fortunately we left with plenty of time to get there, so we made curtain with ease.
Oh, and the something going on at arena? It was a tournament for DOTA 2. So computer games are my own worst enemy.
Anyway, as I was saying, Islander is excellent. Here's the overarching plot: Kinnan is a small island off the Scottish coast, which exists in its own sense of mystic isolation from civilization on the bigland (mainland). The community is dying, as more folk are moving to the mainland, and there are heated discussions about abandoning the island entirely or toughing it out without government support. Eilidh (pronounce AY-lee) is the youngest inhabitant on the island, and first finds a dying whale on the island's shoals, then a mysterious new arrival, Arran, who claims to be a native of the lost island of Setasea and a keeper of whales. Add to all this Eilidh's dealing with a long-distant relationship with her mum on the mainland, with her aging grandmother still on the island, and with the various inhabitants on the island and you have a rich broth to work with.
For our performance Lois Craig was Eilidh and Julia Murray was Arran (two other actors switch off for other performances), and they are, well, excellent. Both in the strength of their voices and in their acting chops. In addition to the two women, they are everyone else on the island - the marine biologist, the local radio DJ, the very pregnant neighbor, the grandmother, the mother, and various other natives, including Paul, who is missing his garden gnome. They switch off characters continually in several songs, creating a rich medley of the islanders and giving a Northern Exposure vibe of the quirky townsfolk. It is all a tall order, and Craig and Murray pull it off seemingly effortlessly.
So. Two person musical with heavy use of looping - taking the notes and playing them back immediately, allowing the actors to build and harmonize with their own voices. This is a highly technical show from an audio standpoint, and the tech people deserve a round of drinks for their achievement (several people in the audience paused on the way out to congratulate the person running the sound board). He and his looping tech provided a third character on the stage.
Yes, it is another show on tour, but instead of Canadian Acrobats we're dealing with Scottish actors/singers. And the accents can be a little thick sometimes (there is a glossary in the program book), since we are dealing rural Scots accents in song. But Islanders pulls it off to a great degree that I did not see as possible, and I think Craig and Murray set a high bar with their voices.
So, a worthwhile afternoon, even if it was in competition with a computer game tournament. Recommended
More later,
