Pre-Performance Talk: 'Song of Rona Island'
Noh Reimagined 2025
An opportunity to hear from Kathleen Jaime (poet and former Scottish Makar) about her essay ‘On Rona’, and how this essay inspired the creation of the Scottish-Noh theatre production ‘Song of Rona Island’ from Kanji Shimizu (Noh shite actor), Aidan O’Rourke (fiddler) and Gareth Mattey.
Song of Rona Island is a pioneering work that brings Japanese noh theatre and Scottish literature, music and nature into dialogue. It is inspired by ‘On Rona’, an essay by highly acclaimed poet and former Scottish Makar Kathleen Jamie collected in her book Sightlines. It reflects on her experiences accompanying a wildlife and archaeological survey on the abandoned remote island of North Rona in the Outer Hebrides. The production brings together six celebrated noh performers from Japan, acclaimed fiddler Aidan O’Rourke and Scottish smallpipes player Brìghde Chaimbeul.
Prior to the world premiere, Kathleen Jamie will share her experiences on North Rona, the most remote island in the Outer Hebrides, illustrated with images and data from her colleague, ornithologist Stuart Murray. Kanji Shimizu, Aidan O’Rourke and Gareth Mattey will then join Jamie for a behind-the-scenes discussion of the creative process that led to the creation of this groundbreaking Scottish–Japanese noh theatre production.
Special thanks to Stuart Murray for providing us his incredible images of life on Rona Island.
This event will last approximately 45 minutes, without an interval.
Concessions & Under 30s tickets
Kings Place Concessions Tickets
We want to ensure that people who may be struggling financially to purchase a ticket can still enjoy visiting Kings Place. A limited number of tickets are allocated for certain events (if the ticket type does not show in the booking pathway, it means they are not available for this event or have all been sold). Concessions tickets are accessible for people on the following criteria (for more information visit our FAQs)
- Pension Credit
- Universal Credit
- Disability Benefit
- Income Support or Job Seekers allowance
- Students
£10 ‘Under 30s’ tickets
A limited number of £10 tickets for attendees aged under 30 are available for certain shows. To purchase an ‘Under 30s’ ticket, please choose the ‘Under 30s’ price type when selecting your ticket(s). If the option does not appear, this means all ‘Under 30s’ tickets have sold out or are not available for this performance. Please note that proof of age may be requested at the venue. The £10 offer does not apply to premium price categories.
Plan your visit
Getting here
Kings Place is situated just a few minutes’ walk from King’s Cross and St Pancras stations, one of the most connected locations in London and now the biggest transport hub in Europe.
Our address is:
90 York Way, London, N1 9AG.
The Venue
Our performance spaces are situated on the lower ground floor. Hall One, Hall Two and St Pancras are located in level -2, reached by stairs, escalator and lift from the ground floor entrance level.
Event Times
Door times indicate auditorium entrance times only. Visitors are welcome to enjoy the Kings Place seating areas, gallery-level art, canal-side terrace, café, restaurant and bar throughout the day and evening.
- Our events begin promptly at the advertised start time. Typically, there is no support unless otherwise stated.
- We recommend arriving in good time before the performance. The Hall doors will open 30 minutes before the performance to allow time to take your seats, or to choose a space for standing shows.
- Latecomers will be admitted at a suitable break in the performance where possible
Access
We aim to make your visit to Kings Place as comfortable as possible. For more information about the accessibility of Kings Place, including details about our Access Scheme, please visit this page.
If you would like to discuss your access requirements with a member of our team, please get in touch with the Box Office team at info@kingsplace.co.uk.
Food & Drink
Rotunda Bar & Restaurant
Rotunda, situated on the ground floor of Kings Place, offers a unique dining and drinking experience alongside Regent’s Canal. The concert bar in the venue foyer will also be open for select events.
Green & Fortune Café
Recently re-furbished and now open with a new look, the Green & Fortune Café is open for selected concerts. Serving hot and cold food and drinks, including sandwiches, salads, soup, stew and a pie of the day, alongside a choice of cakes made by the on-site bakery team. See here for selected concert dates and standard opening hours.
About Kathleen Jamie
Kathleen Jamie is a poet and essayist. Her poetry collections include The Tree House, which won the Forward prize. Her non-fiction essays are collected in the three highly regarded books: Findings, Sightlines, and Surfacing, all regarded as important contributions to the ‘new nature writing’. In 2024 she published Cairn, ‘a view from the strange here-and-now’, and The KeelieHawk, a collection of poems in Scots.
Between 2010 and 2020 Kathleen was Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Stirling, and from 2021-24 she served as Scotland’s Makar, or National Poet.
Kathleen’s interests include archaeology, nature and environment, travel and art.
