2023 Eigg the Musical Scrapbook

Creating Eigg the Musical started back in 2017 when an article appeared in the Guardian about the community buyout of the Isle of Eigg. Six years later we debuted our show at the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the last performance was at Greenside @ Riddles Court on August 12th. We delivered nine shows over the course of two weeks and many of them were sold out. Use the link below to look over the scrapbook we put together. It includes pictures that go all the way back to the beginning of the project.

2023 Eigg the Musical Scapbook

Everyone enjoyed the show and perhaps our small troupe from Denver most of all. Many from the group had never been out of the country before, but everyone was enthusiastic for the experience; after all, the Edinburgh theatre festival is the largest performing arts festival on the planet. Creating a new Musical takes a long time and if you strive for excellence you'll need to find people who know their craft and work well with other people. We were a tight knit group and we all understood that there is much more that we can do together than we could ever do on our own. Music theatre is ephemeral by nature, but it's nice to be able to look back at all the milestones you pass when creating a new musical theatre show.

It takes a village to stand up a new musical

It really does take a village to bring a new musical to life and we wanted to thank all the wonderful people and organizations from all across Colorado who provided support and helped enhance our experience at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year. There are just so many moving parts to these sorts of things, so I hope we didn't forget anyone. Your generosity and support was amazing and something we'll never forget. Thank you from all of us! 🎭

Eigg the Musical - Reviews from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

The reviews are coming out on Eigg the Musical:

***** 5 STARS *****

"This show has great potential to be something big. It tells an important story and is expertly performed. It is an ultimate show of the power of community, telling an important story of Scotland's history. Could this be Scotland’s next Sunshine on Leith?"
* Abi Whitefield - The Scots Reviewer
Read the complete review

"I heartily agree with the reviewer!" Justin Hay - Toronto, Canada

"Eigg the Musical: Before we even talk about how great this show is, I just have to mention that the cast is full of wonderful people. So down to earth and so talented! The show itself is AMAZING. The music is awesome, the story is lovely, and it’s chock full of humor, love, and strength. If you want to see a wonderful musical based on a true story, this is the one!" 
* Dan Lentell - Get Your Coats On - EdFestivals 2023 - Edinburgh, Scotland

BWW selected Eigg the Musical for top ten shows you really don't want to miss this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe! 

"The story of the Isle of Eigg definitely deserves to be told onstage. Having spent some time on Eigg I was really keen to see its fascinating story take to the stage. The song which has stuck with me is called something like “we drink all day.”
* Natalie O'Donoghue - Broadway World

"Thanks Natalie, perhaps you should join Alcoholics Anonymous." Eigg the Musical - Denver, Colorado

Eigg show friends from Ayr Scotland

"Eigg the musical was fabulous with great storytelling of the history of that little island." Joyce Staniard Bell - Ayr, Scotland 

"We really enjoyed it! There were some great singers in the cast, it's a great story about the community buy out of Eigg." Wendy Weatherby - Edinburgh, Scotland."

"Brilliant! thank you for bringing this show to the festival." Ian MacGowan - Aberdeen, Scotland"

"It’s really good and entertaining! You should tour it around the Highlands and Islands! I met Keith Schelenburg in the 80s. I worked for the Council. He sent his little plane to fly me from Fort William. The pilot was Patrick Burns. We flew from Camisky. He had really ambitious ideas for the island." Ken Johnston - Highlands, Scotland"

"What a refreshing, hilarious and beautifully written musical." David Hewitson - Glasgow, Scotland

"Never a dull moment, we really enjoyed your show." Sandy Byrne - Carnwath, Scotland"

"Really enjoyed watching your show....loved the music and choreography....and hats off to Lord Skillington for wearing that Aran jumper in such a warm space!"  Stewart Furini - East Sussex, England

List of our past Blog posts

Here's a list of our blog posts about our new Musical:

2023 Eigg the Musical Scrapbook

It takes a village to stand up a new musical

Eigg the Musical - Reviews from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Eigg the Musical - That's a wrap!

Eigg the Musical Performance at Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Opening scene in 360° Greenside @ Riddles Court

Opening night at the 2023 Edinburgh festival fringe

Eigg music ensemble join forces at Ensign Ewert in Edinburgh

Greenside press gala to kickoff the 2023 Edinburgh fringe festival

Vintage preview program QR code

Preview of Eigg the Musical at Vintage Theatre

Sovereignty and Ownership of the Isle of Eigg

Eigg the Musical Troupe Photos

Reform Starts Now!

2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe Program Launch

Posters for Eigg the Musical at Riddles Court

Ceilidh dance training, what could go wrong?

Kickoff celebration for Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Tickets available for Eigg the Musical

Logo and marketing collateral for Eigg the Musical

Mark your 2023 calendars!

Script development and Cèilidh dance training

Creating an authentic musical score for Eigg

Yes, we're adding plenty of Ceilidh music!

We have a NEW Eigg website address!

We're adding an Accordion to the Eigg Score

Visiting the Isle of Eigg

Music from the show performed on Eigg!

Introducing Sbani & Alsup

Eigg the Musical early development video

The joy of a replenished song list!

An interesting logo concept

ALPHA1...we have a song list...do you read me Houston...over

Experience Eigg Island

The Isle of Eigg

First official blog post

Eigg the Musical - That's a wrap!

Our closing performance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival was Saturday August 12th, 2023. What a fun ride, we met so many good people and we'll never forget our time in Scotland. On closing night we all gathered on stage for our final group photo.

Cast and Crew photo on closing night

Afterwards we gathered to thank all the donors who helped make the trip even more enjoyable, then it was out for dinner and back to pack and prepare for a long day of travel to Colorado.

Cast thanking Indiegogo donors

Eigg the Musical Performance at Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Here's our performance of Eigg the Musical at Greenside @ Riddles Court in Edinburgh Scotland on August 10th, 2023. It's a small thrust stage venue, but it really allowed the actors to engage with the audience during the show. The production received 5 stars from the Scots Reviewer and we sold out the venue. Thank you Scotland for all your support!

Opening scene in 360° Greenside @ Riddles Court

You don't see these sorts of things very often, but it's always interesting to see how these 360 degree videos turn out for stage performances. Here's scene one of Eigg the Musical from the chandelier hanging stage right in Riddles court. The venue is over 500 years old and once held a coronation party for King James V1.

Opening night at the 2023 Edinburgh festival fringe

The official opening of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe was on Monday August 7th, 2023. Here's an image of our cast and crew backstage at Riddles Court. It's just a few steps away from the entrance to the Willow Studio. We were minutes away from the debut of our show based on the "true story" of the small isle of Eigg. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🎭🎹🎻.

Cast and Crew of Eigg the Musical

Eigg music ensemble join forces at Ensign Ewert in Edinburgh

Over the last few years we've been working with Sandy Brechin (accordion extraordinaire) on the various nuances of Scottish Ceilidh music. He's from Edinburgh and his son's friend actually did our tech at Riddles Court. Well, we were finally able to meet him in person at Ensign Ewert tavern for a little music gathering on Sunday August 6th and Cieran was able to sit in, it was so much fun.

Ensign Ewert is a small pub which was right up the street from our venue on the Royal Mile. A couple of days later, Sandy attended our show and we were able to return the favor by performing for him at Riddles Court. He loved the show! It's wonderful how music brings people together.

Eigg Musical Ensemble at Ensign Ewert

Greenside press gala to kickoff the 2023 Edinburgh fringe festival

Our show was pulled out of a hat for a two minute press preview slot to kickoff the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. When we arrived we were lead into the green room for a 10 minute layover before heading up for any performance prep, then to another room to hold. Each room was managed by a different set of stage managers. It was pretty cool, Finally, we headed down a staircase to the stage and waited for the act before us to finished up. We gave them high fives as they came off the stage, then it was our turn and the cast lit it up. It was so fun, the gala was attended by the BBC, the Guardian, the Scotsman to name just a few. It was a great opportunity to get the word out about our show!

Eigg cast at Greenside press gala

Vintage preview program QR code

We've been using QR codes to provide access to our show's program and crowd funding campaign online. It's just more convenient, useful and eco-friendly. There are plenty of free services out there that can generate a QR code for you. We recently printed two PDF one sheets for two separate drivers and posted them around the theater. Theater patrons could access the program and/or crowd funding site directly on their phones. We did print a 4 page program on a single 8.5 x 11 piece of paper too, but a lot of people used their phones to access the program as a flipbook and/or our secure donations site online.

Preview of Eigg the Musical at Vintage Theatre

Here's our first public viewing of Eigg the Musical. The show was sold out and the atmosphere was electric. Thank you Denver for all your love and support! Next, we travel across the pond for a 12 day performance run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Alba gu bràth!

Sovereignty and Ownership of the Isle of Eigg

Here's an overview of the sovereignty and ownership of the Isle of Eigg.

EIGG FOR SALE
   “A perfectly secluded island of the Old World, the very beautiful island of Eigg.”
       - Advertisement 1966

“The history of Eigg is, in part, a history of the whole of Scotland. It may not have stood in the mainstream of events but it has caught all the backwash and contributed not a little of its own. Prehistoric man settled Eigg as did the early Christians and Vikings. It provided a base from which the Lords of the Isle rose to power and later came under the aegis of the Clanranald chiefs and was caught up in their piratical clan wars. Men from Eigg supported the Jacobite cause. When it was suppressed, the Clanranalds - their power gone and fortune spent - sold Eigg. During the 19th century, it was owned by a series of extraordinary industrial barons who lavished their money on the island. Today, modem life and taxation have produced a new approach to island-owning and living.
       - Judy Urquhart writing in Eigg, (Canongate, published 1987).

There have been eight (8) owners of the Isle of Eigg in modern times:

• In 1828 the Clanranalds sold Eigg to Dr. Hugh Macpherson for £15,000.
• In 1917 it was sold to Sir William Petersen, a Dane.
• In 1925 Sir Walter Runciman bought it from Petersen’s executors for £15,000. At his death it passed to his son, Sir Steven.
• In 1966 Sir Steven Runciman sold it to Captain Robert Evans, a Shropshire landowner for £82,000.
• In 1971 he sold it to Bernard Farnhum-Smith for £120,000.
• In 1975 Keith Schellenberg bought it for £250,000.
• In 1989, after a protracted legal suit with his former wife, he was ordered by the Court of Session to sell it.
• In 1997, the year in which Eigg finally came into community ownership

The early focus of The Eigg Trust was to purchase the property, either outright or to participate in a joint purchase with another trust with compatible aims. The trust offered the prospect that when a future visitor asks who owns Eigg, the response, will not be a German factory magnate, English pop star, Swiss banker, Saudi oil sheik, Dutch syndicate, aristocratic heir, racing car driver, insurance company or any other sort of "laird", but simply, "Us ... held in trust for people and nature".
        - The Edinburgh Review, Edinburgh University Press, No. 88, 1992, pp. 158-162. "internet version from www.AlastairMcIntosh.com"

Eigg the Musical Troupe Photos

Here's a couple of troupe photos of the Eigg the Musical cast and crew we took near downtown Denver the first week of July. There's a few cast members missing, but the photos turned out really nice. The troupe was discussing the winners of this year's Tony awards and the possibility of a New York City run for the Eigg show in 2024. Thank you Tracy Holt Doty for the picture!

Eigg the Musical Cast & Crew (Color)

Eigg the Musical Cast & Crew (Black & White)

Reform Starts Now!

In scene 4 Cliff attends the Ceilidh festivities at the Isle of Eigg community center; at some point, he gets fed up with the music and fires the band. Later he returns with his entourage and tries to run the hippies down in his Roll Royce. 

We've moved into Fellowship Hall now. It's a nice place to rehearse the show. It has wood floors and a tiled ceiling that reduces some of the ambient noise we hear in Miller Hall. Also it's slightly bigger and is similar in size to Willow Studio in Riddles Court.

2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe Program Launch

The 2023 Edinburgh festival fringe program has officially launched and our show is one of nearly 150 musicals and operas at the festival this summer. We started working with the edfringe folks back at the beginning of the year and we're on page 221 of this year's program. The show is 60 minutes and one of over 150 Musicals and Operas at this year's event. See you in Scotland. 🎭

Edinburgh Festival Fringe Program with Eigg the Musical (page 221)

Posters for Eigg the Musical at Riddles Court

We created a couple of posters for our shows in Edinburgh this year. The first one we call "the land grab", and the second one is called "the flick". They were created by Sam Wick and really capture the essence of the show in a couple of minimal images. Great job Sam, they both turned out great!

Eigg the Musical posters for the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Ceilidh dance training, what could go wrong?

Here's a couple 360° videos of our cast working through some ceilidh dance steps with our local Scottish dance experts. The tunesets are pretty traditioanal, we start with "Miss McLeods Reel", then transition to "Willajford" and briefly hit "The High Road to Linton. What a great tuneset!

360° video of Eigg troupe dancing to Miss McLeods Reel

Next, the troupe wanders into some waltz moves and the band joins in with "When Irish Eye Are Smiling". What a memorable moment! Man oh man, that was a fun night!

360° video Eigg troupe dancing to When Irish Eyes Are Smiling

Kickoff celebration for Edinburgh Festival Fringe

We had an informative kickoff meeting for our Edinburgh performance run on Tuesday.  We met at First Baptist Church of Denver and did a walk through of the facility and went through the status for the show and played through some of the music. The building has several smaller rooms for logistical meetings, table reads and vocal rehearsals and most of the rooms have a piano. Miller hall is downstairs from the sanctuary and has a full blown theater with a proscenium stage and a large area for choreography and blocking.

Kickoff celebration for Eigg the Musical

It was nice to have most of the talent under one roof for the first time and everyone was super excited; afterwards, we all found time to unwind at City O' City, a nearby watering hole. We'll be spending a lot of time together over the next few months in preparation for 2 weeks in Scotland this Summer.

Tickets available for Eigg the Musical

We're live! The Edinburgh Festival Fringe has updated their website and tickets are now on sale for our show Eigg the Musical. The Fringe Society has done a great job and this year's festival is sure to be one of the best ever. Come join us in Scotland.

Tickets available for Eigg the Musical

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 different shows in 322 venues. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place in Edinburgh every August.

Logo and marketing collateral for Eigg the Musical

We've been hard at work with messaging and branding for our upcoming show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. To start our art director put together a creative strategy for the graphic designer to work from. There's plenty of back-and-forth at this stage, but at the end of the day the period between the initial concepts through the final design went relatively smoothly and took about a month. Here's the final design, we'll plan to use it on our marketing collateral moving forward.

Mark your 2023 calendars!

The time has come! We've confirmed our participation in the 2023 Edinburgh theater festival. The show is now scheduled for the first week of August (7th-12th) with previews (4th-6th) and we are right on the royal mile. It's been a lot of hard work, but so fun and rewarding too. Over the next few months you'll probably see a variety of announcements here and on the festival's fringe site about the show and how to purchase your tickets, so please stay tuned.

Hopefully, the pandemic is behind us now and everything will go smoothly in Edinburgh. The extra time has allowed us to refine the script, enhance the music and put a bow on it. We're all so excited to come to Scotland and perform the work for everyone.