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Press
Successfully combines the sounds and scents of hot Provençal summers, with a shade of tragedy and an irreverent canine comedian ... a fertile swathe of hilarity in this green and pleasant piece of theatre. TimeOut ***** 5 Stars, Critics' Choice
Laughs,
heartbreak, war, regeneration, scented breezes, sparkling
wit, the best dog puppet ever. Perfect for children
and grown-ups. Terrific. Guardian
I'm all for giving credit where credit is due, but sometimes one can come across the odd theatre production that is so good, that it is at times difficult to conjour up the right words express one's feelings about it. Puppet State Theatre Company has put me in this awkward position with their absolute little gem of a production The Man Who Planted Trees. Islington Gazette
It
is very, very rare to find something that appeals as
effortlessly to children and adults as this magical
show ...
For all the laughs to be had along the way, the ending
is genuinely touching. In the performance I saw I noticed
the middle-aged man in the seat next to me take out
a hankie and wipe a tear from his eye. Scotsman ***** 5 Stars
I
doubt whether there is a more enjoyable show on in London
at the moment - for adults as well as children. Rogues and Vagabonds
Expertly
put together and extremely entertaining … This
is just a wonderful, enchanting piece of theatre for
children or for adults.
British
Theatre Guide
Medrington's voice is lilting and perfectly modulated,
creating tension and pathos. Tempered by Conte's jaunty
puppet work with the dog, this is a multi-sensual and
visually witty hour of children's theatre. The
Stage
If you're looking for a show that all the family can enjoy, The Man Who Planted Trees, back by popular demand, is an absolute gem. living.scotsman.com
TimeOut
23rd April 2008
Five Stars *****
The arboriculturist is the subject but it's his dog that is the star of this lovely, lyrical adaptation of Jean Giono's environmental fable. In the gentle hands of Puppet State Theatre Company, the original story has blossomed into a one-hour show for the over-sevens that successfully combines the sounds and scents of hot Provençal summers, with a shade of tragedy and an irreverent canine comedian.
Giono’s story is about a shepherd – Elzéard Bouffier – who takes to the desolate high plains ‘where the alps descend into Provence’ when his wife and child died. For the rest of his life, with only his dog for company, he plants trees and tends saplings, leaving behind him a mighty forest. Giono, who meets the fictional eco-hero five years into his tree-growing regime, tells the tale.
A simple hessian-covered set evokes the sandy barrenness of Provence before Bouffier started his planting. Whistling wind sounds are played and lavender essential oil is wafted over the audience for emphasis. A scruffy little button-eyed dog puppet, who has a lot to say for himself, is given life, voice and perfect timing by Rick Conte, who also manipulates the silent, sad-faced puppet Bouffier. Richard Medrington is Jean, who recounts his meetings with the shepherd over a period of 40 years, during which time two world wars scorch northern France while the southern trees continue to grow. Out of this potentially earnest plotline come more laughs than you might expect. The waggish Dog’s one liners, Medrington’s playful delivery – with plant sprayer – of a short lecture in environmental science and a shrill, pompous Government Official puppet (below) provide a fertile swathe of hilarity in this green and pleasant piece of theatre.
Guardian
G2
15th
April 2008
This
week Michele watched The Man Who Planted Trees at the
Unicorn Theatre: "Laughs, heartbreak, war, regeneration,
scented breezes, sparkling wit, the best dog puppet
ever. Perfect for children and grown-ups. Terrific."
Michele
Hanson
Rogues
and Vagabonds
11th April 2008
This
is a genuinely lovely piece of work. It comes garlanded
with praise from the previous two Edinburgh Festivals
and rightly so. Puppet State Theatre Company have adapted
French writer Jean Giono's 1953 story of a farmer who
planted a forest, acorn by acorn, transforming arid
Provençal land into lush fertility, with deep
respect. Manifestly a parable on the ease with which
good may be done, as well as a plea to look after our
world, it is also a wildly funny puppet show. I doubt
whether there is a more enjoyable show on in London
at the moment - for adults as well as children.
Much
praise must go to Ailie Cohen, who not only directs
it but also designed the set and puppets, yet this has
the feel of a real collaboration between performers
and technicians. The story is told by Jean (Richard
Medrington) and a scruffy stick-fixated dog (Dog - with
the help of puppeteer Rick Conte). All are assured performers:
Richard Medrington has the kind of unpretentious style
that makes an audience relax instantly, while Rick Conte
is dryly witty. They wrap the story up in comedy banter,
a rapport between the performers that also embraces
the audience. More remarkable still is the rapport they
have with their puppets - they have that attentiveness
to them that marks out real puppeteers. It's as if they
are waiting to see what the puppet will do next. In
Dog they do have a genuine star, individual, wise-cracking
and instantly loved by every child in the audience.
There
is so much to admire in this production, but when something
is this good one hesitates to spoil it by giving away
specifics. Suffice to say that the combination of simple
yet lyrical images of striking poetic language - 'Pools
of water that overflowed on to carpets of fresh mint'
- of gorgeous scents wafted on the air and of just plain
laughing a lot, makes for a truly rounded theatrical
experience. An uplifting one, too. So much of our culture
is propelled by the idea that we don't have much time,
yet this is quite the opposite; it has the confidence
to take a leisurely pace, with time to spare. That is
the point of the play, of course, that everybody has
the time to make a hole in the earth and drop an acorn
in.
Do
try to get to The Man Who Planted Trees, whether you
have a child with you or not; it's only on at the brilliant
Unicorn Theatre for three weeks before it heads off
around the country, and it should book up fast. I defy
anyone not to enjoy this.
Following
the Unicorn, The Man Who Planted Trees travels to Yorkshire,
Wales, and Ireland, returning to the Edinburgh Fringe
before tour dates in Kuala Lumpur in October.
Claire
Ingrams © 2008
in
Rogues and Vagabonds 11/04/08
Islington Gazette
30th April 2008
I'M ALL for giving credit where credit is due, but sometimes one can come across the odd theatre production that is so good, that it is at times difficult to conjure up the right words to express one's feelings about it.
Puppet State Theatre Company has put me in this awkward position, with their absolute little gem of a production The Man Who Planted Trees.
Puppeteer/actors Rick Conte and Richard Medrington's stage show of French author Jean Giono's 1953 book L'homme qui plantait des arbres tells the tale of a Elzeard Bouffier, a simple man of the land, who moves with his dog to a remote part of France upon the death of his wife and child.
The story begins in 1910 and is told by a young anonymous narrator, travelling through France in the years before the outbreak of the First World War.
Chancing upon the isolated valley and farmstead where Bouffier resides, the narrator of the tale strikes up a friendship with the man and his dog, a friendship that lasts nearly 40 years.
Alilie Cohen's direction of the two-man team of Conte and Medrington has evidently produced a highly entertaining, emotional and funny show that has children transfixed and adults reaching for their hankies at the denouement. Brilliant.
Dale Maitland Cartwright
London
SE1
11th April 2008
This
eco folk tale for all ages is delightfully presented
by Puppet State Theatre Company.
The
two performers Richard Medrington and Rick Conte create
a gentle world of simple goodness.
Somewhere
in deepest Provence, an old shepherd had the wisdom
to plant acorns everyday, 100 in the morning and 100
in the afternoon. The desolate scrub, where only wild
lavender grows, is transformed into a great forest,
which rejuvenates the local ecosystem. A new population
of birds and people brings renewed life, proving that
the simplest ideas have the most profound effect.
This
production quickly engages even the youngest in the
audience, especially when the star of the show, the
shepherd's dog, is on stage. As a performer with attitude
he keeps everyone on their toes.
The
French origin of the story is evoked by the lively pre-show
French songs, the faded linen of the set and even a
few words of French. It does not shy away from wartime
battles. The emotions are touched and acknowledged very
gently. All the senses are called into play, with the
rain being especially enjoyed.
This
is a delightful hour for families to share together.
Marion
Marples
The
Scotsman
August 22nd 2006
Five Stars *****
IT
IS VERY, very rare to find something that appeals as
effortlessly to children and adults as this magical
show from Edinburgh's Puppet State Theatre Company.
Too
often now, we see people taking the Shrek approach to
family entertainment - a simple, straightforward plot
and some loveable characters for the kids to enjoy,
peppered with a few knowing in-jokes to keep the grown-ups
entertained. In The Man Who Planted Trees, however,
the audience is completely united - everyone laughs
at the same gags and everyone falls silent at precisely
the same moment when things take a turn for the serious.
Performers
Richard Medrington and Rick Conte make an unlikely yet
effervescent double act. Medrington, the straight man,
narrates a beautiful, understated version of Jean Giono's
famous story - first published in Vogue in 1954 - about
a shepherd called Elzeard Bouffier who took it upon
himself to grow a forest in an area of the French Alps
which had previously lain barren. Conte, meanwhile,
gives voice to a hugely likeable puppet called Dog,
who, in a nicely-judged bit of preamble, enthusiastically
agrees to play the part of Elzeard's dog in the story.
Dog
is a wonderful comic creation - he has the whole audience
giggling helplessly within seconds of appearing on stage,
just by saying "hello" and "hi"
a few times and wagging his tail. Gradually, though,
the spell of Medrington's story starts to take hold,
as we follow Elzeard through numerous hardships and
two World Wars.
The
drama is peppered with a host of simple but effective
touches, from the wafting of smells into the audience
at appropriate intervals right down to the utterly lifelike
way in which the Elzeard puppet drinks a pail full of
water. And for all the laughs to be had along the way,
the ending, when it comes, is genuinely touching. In
the performance I saw, as Medrington brought his tale
to a close, I noticed the middle-aged man in the seat
next to me take out a hankie and wipe a tear from his
eye.
Roger
Cox
British
Theatre Guide
Five
Stars *****
August 2007
Jean
Giono's story from the 1950s seems to have far more
relevance in today's world where issues of deforestation
and destruction of the natural environment have suddenly
become huge concerns.
This
is just a wonderful, enchanting piece of theatre for
children or for adults. There is some genuinely very
funny comedy that appeals to all ages at the same time
and some parts that are really quite moving. The puppets
and the sets are great, the story is beautifully told
and Dog is a superb comic character. This show is expertly
put together and is extremely entertaining, and has
deservedly been selling out performances at the lovely
little Netherbow Theatre in the Scottish Storytelling
Centre on the Royal Mile.
David
Chadderton
The
Stage
August
2007
This
lyrically told story of a French farmer's lifelong obsession
with planting trees uses miniature puppetry, birds on
fishing rods and the smells of lavender and forest glades
to create a multi-sensual and visually witty hour of
children's theatre.
Performers
Rick Conte and Richard Medrington work skilfully off
each other. Conte in charge of the farmer's cheeky,
stick-loving puppet dog and Medrington taking us on
a journey into the past and the heart of the French
countryside. Medrington's voice is lilting and perfectly
modulated, shifting pace and intonation, creating tension
and pathos.
The
two performers share banter and badinage, the serious
side of the story dealing with world wars and plutocratic
government officials tempered by Conte's jaunty puppet
work with the dog. Some clever nods to the audience's
suspension of disbelief show children the magic and
playfulness of theatre. It's a carefully judged affair,
balancing history, environmentalism and comedy.
The
smells waft through the theatre, while children leap
from their seats to touch the bobbing birds above their
head. The French farmer's story is gently suggestive
without preaching, his solitude and perseverance a moving
counterweight to the century of bloodshed and corruption
he lives through.
William
McEvoy
Puppet
Notebook
Journal of British UNIMA
(Union Internationale de la Marionnette)
August 2006
The
smell of lavender wafted by giant palm fans and fine
mist sprayed over the audience are two of the delights
in The Man Who Planted Trees. This is an unusual,
imaginative little play with a profound ecological theme
and much humour which should not be missed.
It
is rare to find a puppet show for adults as well as
children which does not use the Gothic. Rather, Richard
Medrington's Puppet State Theatre Comapny's production
uses story-telling as one of its chief devices, which
is appropriate as it will be playing at the newly-refurbished
Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh during the
festival.
The
performance I saw was a dress rehearsal for an invited
Special Needs audience, who clearly were enthralled
by the show. This was very much to Richard Medrington's
credit since the play makes few concessions in language
or in the serious ecological theme.
It
is based on a story by Jean Giono, set before and during
the two world wars, about a man called Elzeard Bouffier,
who turns a desert green by planting trees. The trees
then provide a living for local people and allow other
life to flourish, including bees (cue buzzing and much
humour with a dog dressed in a bee-keeper's veiled hat).
The
antics of the scruffy, endearing dog (a glove puppet
manipulated by American Rick Conte) enthralled the audience
with comic interaction and punning.
Richard
Medrington's skill in word-play (shown off in previous
shows, such as The Adventures of Ivan the Slug)
is on display here. With Rick Conte's droll dog they
make a superb duo.
The
stylish and effective set, designed by Ailie Cohen,
makes imaginative use of hessian drapes over playboards
to evoke the desert landscape. This is transformed by
a few two-dimensioanl trees to represent the forest.
For
five years Richard's production of Winnie the Pooh
played to packed houses, culminating in a run at the
National Theatre. When Disney bought the rights in 2000,
Richard was forced to put his bear into moth-balls.
The scruffy dog may not have Pooh's fame but he will
certainly capture the hearts of many children.
Stephanie
Green
see www.unima.org.uk
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