The Creation of Eigg the Musical

The story of Eigg the Musical began in 2017 with a fascination for a tiny island off the west coast of Scotland and the extraordinary story of the people who call it home. Situated in Scotland's Inner Hebrides, the Isle of Eigg has a long and colorful history of changing ownership, eccentric lairds and conflict over who should control the land. But it was the island's modern story, the struggle that ultimately led to the historic community buyout in 1997, that provided the spark for a new musical.

The first songs began appearing in 2017. There wasn't a finished script waiting for music. In fact, it happened almost exactly the other way around. Melodies, chords and fragments of lyrics came first, and as the collection of songs grew, characters and storylines began to emerge around them. By early 2018 there were nearly 50 musical ideas on the table and the beginnings of a show.

Sbani & Alsup

In 2018, composer and lyricist April Alsup joined forces with playwright Mark Sbani, who came aboard to develop the book. The two began the long process familiar to anyone who has developed a new musical: researching, writing, rewriting, debating ideas, moving songs, eliminating songs and gradually discovering what the show actually wanted to become. The early version contained everything from island rivalries and eccentric landowners to romance, tragedy, revolution and the complicated relationship between the people of Eigg and those who had claimed ownership of it over the centuries. But the musical was still searching for its theatrical identity.

Going to Eigg

A major turning point came with a research trip to Scotland and the Isle of Eigg in 2019. Seeing the island firsthand changed the direction of the show. Eigg wasn't simply a setting for the story. Its music, landscape, history and sense of community needed to become part of the theatrical experience itself. Exploring the island also brought unexpected connections. Along the way, a group visiting from Ayr, spending time together while discovering Eigg, shared their stories and experiencing the island through the eyes of people who knew Scotland far better than we did. Those encounters became part of the research too, the kind of personal connection that can't be found in a book or online.

After returning returning from Scotland the writing team began rethinking the work. Rather than trying to tell every story the island had to offer, the musical would focus on a smaller collection of stories and place them within something unmistakably Scottish: a ceilidh. That decision provided the framework the show had been looking for. Four years later, when Eigg the Musical finally made its way to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2023, the journey came full circle in an unexpected way. The friends from Ayr who had been part of that first adventure on Eigg traveled to Edinburgh to see the finished musical, reuniting with the team and seeing how that day exploring a little island in the Hebrides had helped become part of a show.

Finding the Sound of Eigg

The ceilidh brought music, dance and storytelling together and gave the show a natural way to move between the present and the island's past. Traditional Scottish music began finding its way into the score alongside the original songs. Reels, jigs and familiar ceilidh tunes could create the atmosphere of an island gathering while the original musical theatre score carried the characters and story forward. There was only one small complication: the show really needed an accordion. So April learned to play one. During the pandemic, she worked remotely with professional accordionists, including Colorado accordionist Mike Aman and Edinburgh ceilidh musician Sandy Brechin, learning not simply how to play the instrument but how Scottish ceilidh music is actually structured and performed. By 2020 and 2021, the accordion and traditional Scottish tunes had become an integral part of the Eigg sound.

Developing the Ceilidh

As the world began emerging from the pandemic, the next challenge was getting the music onto its feet. In 2022, local theatre performers gathered for the show's first experimental ceilidh dance session. Scottish dance specialists (Tim and Jennifer Luscombe) helped introduce the company to the dances and traditions behind the music while April played accordion. Gay Gordons, reels, jigs and traditional tune sets suddenly moved from arrangements on a page to actors dancing across a room. It was another important step in the development of the show. The ceilidh was no longer simply a device in the script—it was becoming the environment in which Eigg could live.

Building the Production

By 2023, six years had passed since the first idea. The additional development time provided by the pandemic allowed the script to be refined, the music expanded and the show's unusual combination of musical theatre and traditional Scottish music to mature. A Denver company was assembled, rehearsals began, choreography was developed and the production started preparing for something that had once seemed very far away: taking Eigg the Musical to Scotland. The company's first public preview was presented at Vintage Theatre in Colorado in July 2023. The performance sold out. Next stop: Edinburgh.

Bringing Eigg Home to Scotland

In August 2023, Eigg the Musical made its international debut at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, performing nine shows over two weeks at Greenside @ Riddles Court. Many performances sold out. The journey also created one particularly fitting moment. For years the production had worked remotely with Edinburgh accordionist Sandy Brechin to better understand the nuances of Scottish ceilidh music. Once the company arrived in Edinburgh, members of the Eigg ensemble finally joined Sandy in person for an informal music session at the Ensign Ewart pub near Edinburgh Castle. A few days later, Sandy came to Riddles Court and watched the show he had helped influence. The musical that had begun six years earlier with an idea about a little Scottish island had finally made its way back to Scotland.

Six Years in the Making

Creating Eigg the Musical ultimately took six years. It began with research and a handful of songs. It became a collaboration. A trip to Eigg changed its direction. A ceilidh gave it a theatrical language. A pandemic unexpectedly gave it time. An accordion changed its sound. Scottish musicians and dancers helped give it authenticity. And a company of actors, musicians, designers and theatre artists finally brought it to life.

In 2023, that journey culminated with performances in Denver and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Eigg subsequently received four BroadwayWorld Denver Awards, including Best Musical and Best New Musical. The blog created along the way became something else too: a record of what it actually takes to create a new musical. Songs come and songs go. Scenes are rewritten. Ideas change. People join the journey and leave their fingerprints on the work. And eventually, if you're fortunate, all those pieces become a show.