When the Birds Come

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Production photos by Alex Brenner

Set and Costume Design for New Writing | Underbelly, Edinburgh Fringe

Directed by Alexander Lass
Written by Tallulah Brown
Lighting Design by Jai Morjaria
Sound Design by Roly Witherow
Produced by Debbie Hicks Productions

Cast: Zak Douglas, Phoebe Vigor

Development sketches, imagery, fitting photos and research

Margaret has always told her little brother Stanley it’s his fault the ice is melting. She doesn’t want to live in the Alaskan tundra. She wants to run away and be a normal teenager in Anchorage. Years later, the rift between the siblings has seismically grown. In a fast-melting world, will love be left behind?

Designing this production required a deep research into both what the youth of the Yupik community of Alaska wear, with delicate nods and ties to their native heritage clothing. Layering to carry them through a large span of their lives. This was the played against a space that had to reflect the precariousness of their existence in the melting tundra with duckboards providing the last chance to remain in their ancestral home, it could also provide something that was playful for the two children to play against.

Set and Costume was created from as much existing material as possible, something that was very important to the team to reduce the environmental impact of this production.

“[…]you can almost feel the icemelt dripping in Isabella Van Braeckel’s wood-and-metal set.

David Kettle, The Arts Desk

“Alexander Lass’s production plays out gracefully on Isabella Van Braeckel’s simple set”

The Stage

“Both the soundscape (Roly Witherow) and minimal set (Isabella Van Braeckel) are crucial to giving us a sense of place. When you are sitting in what is, basically, a damp brick loft in Edinburgh you need some magic to get you to Alaska, a place so beautiful it takes your breath away.”

Ann Treneman, The Times

“Director Alexander Lass makes good use of the compact space and Isabella Van Braeckel’s perfectly eerily, sparse set.”

Claire Wood, The Wee Review