I have noticed that something draws us towards outlying islands. Some force pulls.

In 1939, on the eve of war, two young ornithologists arrive on a remote Scottish island, sent by the government to survey the bird life. With them are Kirk, the island's authoritarian leaseholder, and his niece Ellen. Left alone on a scrap of land surrounded by the vast Atlantic, they find themselves overtaken by hidden desires.

Outlying Islands premiered at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh in July 2002 and transferred to the Royal Court, London in Autumn 2002. It was revived at Jermyn Street Theatre, London, in February 2025.

David Greig is a writer and theatre director. He was born in Edinburgh in 1969. His play Europe was performed at the Traverse Theatre in 1994. Since then, his plays, adaptations and musical scripts have been performed widely in the UK and around the world. In 1990 he co-founded Suspect Culture, who produced collaborative, experimental work until their funding was ended in 2010. In 2016 he became the Artistic Director of Edinburgh's Royal Lyceum Theatre. In 2023 he published his first novel, Columba's Bones.