PUPPET STATE THEATRE COMPANY presents
JRR Tolkien’s Leaf by Niggle
At the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2016 and part of the Made in Scotland Showcase 2016
Scottish Storytelling Centre, Venue 30a
Aug 4 Preview 17:00; Aug 5-28 (not 10, 15, 22, 23) 17:00 (75mins)
Aug 17 17:00 BSL interpreted performance
Performed by Richard Medrington
Soundtrack composed by Karine Polwart and Michael John McCarthy
Directed by Andy Cannon; Lighting by Gerron Stewart; Design Support by Ailie Cohen; Movement support by Janice Parker; Stage Management by Elspeth Murray
Puppet State Theatre Company returns to the Scottish Storytelling Centre for this year’s Festival Fringe, as part of Made in Scotland, with its acclaimed new production of JRR Tolkien’s little-known short story, Leaf by Niggle.
“Exquisite … so beautifully told … completely seductive” ****The Scotsman
This solo storytelling show, created and performed by Richard Medrington, draws on Richard’s personal family history as an introduction to Tolkien’s original story. Surrounded by ladders, bicycles and heirlooms, Richard Medrington (Jean from The Man Who Planted Trees) recounts Tolkien’s miniature masterpiece with a beautiful soundtrack composed by Karine Polwart and Michael John McCarthy.
“Tolkien’s lord of small things…enchanting one-man show” ****The Guardian
Leaf by Niggle is considered by some to be Tolkien’s most autobiographical work, springing from his fear of not finishing The Lord of the Rings. In 1939, as war clouds were darkening, he woke up one morning with the story almost complete in his mind and wrote it down.
Niggle is a struggling artist who is trying to complete his magnum opus, a painting of a curious tree. He isn’t sure when he will need to set out on his journey, but he is worried that he won’t be able to finish the painting before it’s time to leave.
Leaf by Niggle is often seen as an allegory of Tolkien’s own creative process, and, to an extent, of his life. It is a tale of transformation, which examines the relationship between an artist, his creation and his community.
Richard Medrington is the artistic director of Puppet State Theatre Company and for the past nine years the company has been touring the world with its much lauded production of Jean Giono’s The Man Who Planted Trees.
This new adaptation of Leaf by Niggle is a reflection of Richard’s long held ambition to perform a staged version of the story. In 1993, Richard gave an acclaimed one-off storytelling performance of the piece at the Carberry Festival and has nurtured hopes of performing it to a wider audience ever since.
“a salve on the soul” **** The List
“As a result of appearing in the very first Made in Scotland showcase in 2009 with The Man Who Planted Trees, Puppet State’s international touring has included two tours to Australia and New Zealand. In 2013 we took part in the Sydney Opera House’s first live stream of a performance to multiple remote audiences, some over 700 miles away. I am looking forward to performing our new show, Leaf by Niggle, in this year’s Made in Scotland showcase and seeing where this unique opportunity will lead us.” Richard Medrington
“This is my first ever commission to compose for theatre and it’s a challenge and a joy to collaborate with such an accomplished creative posse. Niggle’s journey, and Richard Medrington’s beautifully personal and familial framing of it, feels quite close to the bone for me, and very relevant to our times. There are so many possible ways to receive it and get inside of it, as there are always with deep stories. But to me it’s about the fundamental human impulse to create and find meaning and beauty in life, and how duty, convention and the sheer necessity of toil can cut against this. The gap between the world as we imagine it and the world as it sometimes is – in all its reductive, mechanistic brutality – can be hard to hold in a single heart. But Niggle’s story feels hopeful nonetheless”. Karine Polwart
With thanks to the Tolkien Trust and the Festival Theatre, Edinburgh
Supported by Creative Scotland | Produced by Alice McGrath & Red Bridge Arts
Suitable for adults and young people aged 10 and over
LISTINGS:
Scottish Storytelling Centre Venue 30a
Aug 4 Preview 17:00 (75 mins) | £6
Aug 5-28 (not 10, 15, 22, 23) 17:00 (75 mins) | £10/£8 conc. /£32 Family (2 adults, 2 children)
Aug 17 17:00 (75 mins) BSL interpreted performance
Box Office: 0131 556 9579 www. scottishstorytellingcentre.co.uk
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