The Outrun

Isis Hainsworth as Woman in The Outrun. Image © Mihaela Bodlovic

The theme of this year’s Edinburgh International Festival is “Rituals That Unite Us”, this - as explained by Festival director Nicola Benedetti - based on The Disappearance of Rituals by philosopher Byung-Chui Han. In her introduction in the Festival programme she highlights three themes from Han’s book: Our New Rituals, The Art of Seduction, and The Game of Life and Death.

Certainly as new rituals go, the Opening Event two weeks ago staged by Pinwheel at George Heriot’s School was spectacular, and lived up to its subtitle of a Ritual to Ignite Your Festival. Video installations on an immense scale bringing the 17th century building to life, and a moving tribute to Edinburgh written by playwright Davey Anderson spoken over a soundscape composed by Roma Yagnik. Any visitor in the audience thinking they had made a mistake coming to Edinburgh must surely have had their doubts erased at the end of the night.

I’m not sure though how the The Art of Seduction and The Game of Life and Death mark this Festival out as being any different from any of the previous 76 editions of the annual arts event. These themes are universal and explored this year in almost every performance from Teatro La Plaza’s Hamlet, Scottish Opera’s Oedipus Rex, National Theatre of Scotland’s The Fifth Step and I’ll wager the songs of Mánran and Bat For Lashes cover those subjects too.

But in two years Nicola Benedetti has quickly made her mark and breathed new life into the International Festival. Incredible that in its almost 80 year history she is the first female director (of 11) and - unbelievably - also the first Scot.

There are, of course, other festivals which take place in Edinburgh during August. And, among them, the over-arching theme this year seems to be Amy Liptrot. Liptrot, a Scottish journalist and author, sprang to fame in 2016 with the publication of her memoir The Outrun. Set mainly in Orkney, it’s unusual in that it contrasts beautiful nature writing with brutally honest scenes of addiction and recovery. It’s a stunning debut and was always going to be difficult to follow, but The Instant (2022) in which Liptrot describes a year she spent in Berlin, while very different, is just as good.

The film of The Outrun directed by Nora Fingscheidt and starring Saoirse Ronan had its UK Premiere at the Cameo Cinema as part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival last week. I dithered for 10 minutes when I first saw the programme and … well, he who dithers doesn’t get tickets. But from what I’ve seen this looks like a powerhouse performance from Saoirse Ronan and, not that Orkney needed it, an advert for the raw landscape of the islands where the film was partially shot.

Next up, the Edinburgh International Book Festival where Amy Liptrot has made two appearances. Last week with Shetlandic poets Jen Hadfield and Roseanne Watt, she celebrated the writing of Orkney and Shetland. And on Sunday she was in conversation with Caitlin Skinner, discussing both the film adaptation of The Outrun and the stage adaptation, written by Olivier Award-winning playwright Stef Smith. Overwhelmed by the sheer volume of events in the Book Festival programme, I noticed both of these too late to attend. However … I have seen Stef Smith’s play.

This, part of the International Festival, is a Royal Lyceum Theatre production but is being staged in the 350 seat Church Hill Theatre for a run of 26 performances. It would have been easier to have it on at the Festival Theatre for six nights, but something would have been lost on a bigger stage. The Outrun is a very personal story and deserves to be told in this intimate space. Clearly a stage set can’t compete with film when it comes to showing the wildness of the island of Papa Westray (or for that matter London’s club scene) but a very basic set - a hut, some rocks - is enhanced by some remarkable video design from Lewis den Hertog to convey scene changes.

I can’t imagine there was anyone in the audience who hadn’t previously read Liptrot’s memoir so it’s impossible to say whether the play stands on its own. It probably does but - and this is my only criticism - the action at times did seem a bit disjointed, as if there was a determination on the part of Stef Smith and director Vicky Featherstone to fit the play into a running time of 90 minutes come what may.

But the dialogue is perfectly written, and the performances of the 10-strong cast cannot be faulted. Isis Hainsworth as “Woman” (Amy Liptrot’s character) is magnificent and wholly believable as she descends to the point of destruction in London and returns to Orkney where ultimately, she finds salvation. It's a perfect example of The Game of Life and Death.

The Outrun at Church Hill Theatre until 24th August