Song of Rona Island (World Premier)

Matsukaze & Song of Rona Island • Contemporary • Kings Place

Date: Sat 29 Nov

Start time:7.30pm (Doors: 7pm)

Daiwa Scholarships alum Gareth Mattey is the dramaturg for this piece:

Song of Rona Island (World Premier)

Rona, a tiny island in the Outer Hebrides, was once home to a chapel founded by St Ronan in the 8th century, alongside a small farming community. The people of Rona were repeatedly devastated by famine and isolation until the island fell silent. Today, it is visited only by naturalists, sailors, and scientists who study its seabirds and seals. Kathleen Jamie’s essay ‘On Rona’ evokes both the island’s haunting past and its ecological present—between empty villages and declining seabird colonies, Rona displays an austere beauty marked by collapse.

In ‘Song of Rona Island’, this story is reimagined through the dramaturgy of noh theatre, with St Ronan (played by a Noh shite actor) appearing in the dream of a contemporary Scottish traveller. Through dialogue, chant, and music, he recounts Rona’s histories of hardship and loss, while also invoking the island’s natural cycles, and its enduring spirit. As the traveller awakens, the memories of Rona Island linger, tinged with a longing to return. Originally conceived for the Cultural Olympiad 2020 and further developed following a work-in-progress performance in Tokyo in 2024, the work receives its world premiere this evening.

More information:

Song of Rona Island