by Karine Polwart with music & sound design by Pippa Murphy

“★★★★★
A work of monumental beauty… Karine Polwart and Pippa Murphy’s songs – a rich blend of chamber folk stylings – give voice to Old Sabal with clarity and heart.”

— The Herald

WINDBLOWN

Written, Directed, Composed & Performed by Karine Polwart
Composer & Sound Design: Pippa Murphy
AV Design: Jamie Wardrop
Set Design: Neil Haynes
LX Design: Lizzie Powell
Movement Direction: Janice Parker
Pianist: Dave Milligan
Creative Producers: Gillian Garrity & Margaret-Anne O’Donnell
Commissioned by: Raw Material

Supported by Creative Scotland

A hauntingly beautiful tribute to a palm tree facing its chainsaw demise, Windblown is a spellbinding blend of folk music, conjured sound, intimate storytelling and stunning, immersive visuals.

Step into a world of song, story and stillness with this exquisite, theatrical ‘parting glass’ to a 200-year-old Sabal palm brought from Bermuda to Scotland in the early 1800s, and to the gardeners who loved it. 

Beneath a mesmerising canopy of sculpted fronds, accompanied live by pianist Dave Milligan, Karine Polwart gives voice to the palm itself, tracing its extraordinary life and final days; exploring themes of colonial legacy, ecological care, grief and resilience.

Windblown is a deeply moving, luminous production that provoked a powerful emotional response in audiences at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2025, receiving five-star reviews across the board. Join us for this unforgettable meditation on our connection to the natural world and the quiet, enduring acts of love that sustain it.

SCOTTISH TOUR 2026

EDINBURGH: LYCEUM 28/29/30 APRIL TICKETS
ST ANDREWS: BYRE THEATRE 2 MAY TICKETS
INVERNESS: EDEN COURT 6 MAY TICKETS
GLASGOW: PAVILION 8/9 MAY TICKETS
STIRLING: MACROBERT 14 MAY TICKETS
PERTH: CONCERT HALL 16 MAY TICKETS

“★★★★★
Pure magic … an exquisite 60-minute song cycle”

— The Scotsman

“★★★★★
Sublime, a tender, glowing paean to nature, humanity and life itself”

— The Skinny

“★★★★★
This is a truly wonderful show. An extraordinary, anthropomorphic, elegiac hour.”

— The Stage

“★★★★★
Extraordinary … A remarkable piece of storytelling, quiet and serene, as subtle as it is smart, both parable and not.”

— FT