Deep Wheel Orcadia
The Lemon Tree
5 West North Street
Aberdeen
AB24 5AT
Based on the award-winning verse novel by Harry Josephine Giles, Deep Wheel Orcadia presents a spellbinding fusion of performance and music that brings this captivating story to stage. Produced by acclaimed Scottish theatre company Scissor Kick, this moving show is told entirely in Orkney Scots with English surtitles. With direction by Susan Worsfold and an incredible original score by BAFTA-winning composer Atzi Muramatsu writing for string quartet, this groundbreaking sci-fi story celebrates a living minority language and places it at the heart of the cosmos.
When Astrid returns home from art school on Mars, she’s lost to find inspiration on a distant, dilapidated space station spinning slowly through the stars. As the space station and its people struggle for survival, Astrid meets Darling, a mysterious Martian seeking refuge in an already troubled haven. The fragile connection between two outsiders becomes a lifeline as Deep Wheel Orcadia delves into queer identities and a struggle for survival.
Crafted from Giles’ original acclaimed verse novel (winner of the 2022 Arthur C. Clarke Award) this stimulating production boldly resists the notion that Orkney language and culture belong only to the past. Opening for its world premiere at Orkney Theatre as part of St Magnus International Festival, Deep Wheel Orcadia celebrates the vibrant dialect in a heartwarming exploration of belonging, soul searching, and how we can find ourselves whilst feeling afloat in space.
Deep Wheel Orcadia (as a stage show) was initially conceived as a one-off performance platformed as part of Scotland Through Time, an Edinburgh International Book Festival project (2022). The novel itself has been branded a ‘magical first’: a science fiction verse-novel written in the Orkney dialect (with a parallel English language translation).
Full Creative Team:
Writer/Performer: Harry Josephine Giles Composer/Cellist: Atzi Muramatsu Director: Susan Worsfold Violin 1: Catriona Price Violin 2: Kate Miguda Viola: Marsailidh Groat Violin 1 Cover: Brianna Berman Lighting Designer and Videographer: Robbie Thomson Set and Costume Designer: Claire Halleran Production Manager: Colin Bell Technical Stage Manager: Chris Gorman
Starts 7pm
Suitable for ages 12+
Saturday’s performance will be BSL Interpreted
Content Warning: Flashing Lights
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Dates & Booking
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Ticket Info
Standard - £17.60
Concession - £13.20
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