After 4,000 years of being occupied by humans, the last remaining islanders on Scottish island St Kilda will inspire a new podcast musical.
The musical Atlantic, which will be aired as a podcast, aims to depict the lead up to the evacuation of St Kilda in 1930. The musical will be based on the real-life experiences of the last islanders on the island.
Split into eight parts, music has already been created for the series by two of the country’s leading musical theatre directors, Scott Gilmour and Claire McKenzie, their partnership termed “Noisemaker“. A selection of the music will include traditional Gaelic songs performed by Ainsley Hamill.
With a Scottish cast, the musical will be launched by Scottish producers The Big Light in June.
Gilmour told The Scotsman: “Through the eyes of two young islanders we meet at the beginning who go on very different paths, across the arc of the podcast we see how St Kilda is affected and influenced by the growing changes in mainland Scotland and all the shifts happening across the world.”
Producer of Atlantic, Cameron McKay, discussed: “We’re trying to bring something new and daring to the podcast market with Atlantic—we feel it’s going to be a bit of a unique offering, with a properly curated musical score, the soundscape and the drama.
“There is still so much mystery and intrigue around St Kilda and Scottish history in general. We feel there’s a real opportunity with Atlantic to reach people in all corners of the world.”
Words by Lucy Dunn
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Image Credit: “File:St Kilda Village Bay.jpg” by Ian Mitchell is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0