In two adjoining rooms in Summerhall’s basement, sounds of the sea intertwine with flickering projections of an abandoned place, given over long ago to the ravages of the wild Scottish weather. Personal possessions are grouped throughout the space, poignant little glimpse of a life once lived. This deeply evocative multimedia performance installation offers an abstract exploration of the impact of Lord Leverhulme’s appropriation of the Outer Hebrides’ Isle of Lewis, which he purchased in 1918 with the aim of reviving the fishing industry. Instead, the result was the eventual decimation of the local population, and abandonment of the island. Performing brothers Jamie and Lewis Wardrop present a tantalising view into one of the island’s abandoned crofter’s cottages, using cleverly layered projections and carefully curated object collections to illustrate the sharp decline of a once-functioning community. There is a tangible sense of tragedy and nostalgia in the imagery of the dilapidated house, half-destroyed by the elements and time. It looks as if it was left in a hurry, with nearly all the everyday detritus of human life on display, and there is a universality in this; the idea that someone’s fully established life was suddenly abandoned and is left here in stasis. The sense is further enhanced by a searing montage of oceanic sounds, interwoven with affecting traditional Scottish storytelling, poetry, and fiddle playing.

The immersive and promenade nature of the performance particularly appealed to me, with an element of audience choice offered in that we were free to wander between the spaces. This allows you to construct your own narrative and experience of the piece, and I was fully captured by being able to stand in the space between the two rooms to gain two separate perspectives, and moments such as when were encouraged to draw near to a roaring (projected!) fireside and listen to ghostly takes. Part of the audience’s role, then, is in piecing the imagery and information together for ourselves, which makes the experience by its nature a personal one.

For me, there was absolute intrigue in the exploration of the abandoned house, but, whilst I understand that this was constructed as a metaphor for much more, there was still a slight frustration in that we never found out more about it! The content was largely exciting and the performers both confident and engaging, but the lengthily lecture-like opening (as necessary as perhaps it was to set the piece) felt too obvious an expositionary tool, compared to he innovation of the rest of the performance. Further, moments of stillness were included to good effect, but I found some of the longer non-action sequences challenging in terms of holding my engagement. However, this is, as previously highlighted, a deeply personal response to the piece, which is without doubt full of intrigue and atmosphere, very well constructed and has kept me thinking far in to the night!