St Kilda Island of the Birdmen

Work:: St Kilda Island of the Birdmen (S01010096093)

The Birdmen' of St Kilda - Scaling the sheer cliffs of their rocky home 'the Birdmen' of St Kilda harvested a living from seabirds and their eggs for more than 3,000 years. The decline and depopulation of their society was a slow process, accelerated by contagions from the mainland. By the time the British government evacuated the island in 1930 there were hardly thirty people left - clinging to their unique way of life and furious landscape and roped to their customs and language. Living on the edge - St Kilda is the most westerly of Scottish islands and the last landfall before America. It is the UK's only dual World Heritage Site - for both natural and cultural heritage - and the cliffs rise taller than the Empire State Building. Traditional Gaelic song and contemporary music are performed against a backdrop of vintage and modern film as a cast of actors, singers and acrobats tell the story of the 'Birdmen' of St Kilda. Memerising Multi-media - Two large screens frame the stage and show archive film from 1908 to1930. Interwoven with these highly emotional images is spectacular contemporary film of the place, its story and dramatic aerial cliff-dancers.

Listing:: L02053066774

Edinburgh International Festival

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Production details

Staged production in Gaelic, French and English. Duration: 1 hour 25 minutes approx. Edinburgh International Festival