one4review | On 04, Aug 2024

The Tree and Her Tale is a charming production that explores the relationship between stories and their owners, friendship, and change. The show is a mix of shadow puppetry, spoken word, and visual storytelling techniques. The room has chairs and small cushions for younger audience members to nestle down and listen as the story unfolds. Our narrator, with an overhead projector, tells the story via shadow puppetry, which is creative and visually appealing with book pages transformed into tree leaves.

Jess Aquilina is undoubtedly talented, bringing warmth and vibrancy to the stage. Their ability to engage the audience and take us on this journey is admirable. However, the writing of the piece gives her less to work with and is limited to an OHP with a few shadow puppets, meaning she can only give us so much before this becomes a very spoken-word piece of theatre, and for older audiences this is fine; however, for the 3–7 audience this is aimed at, it becomes a more formidable journey.

I couldn’t help but see similarities between this production and Shel Silverstein’s children’s picture book “The Giving Tree,” the relationship between a boy and a tree, themes of giving and loss, and the emotional lessons of friendship and sacrifice. However, they are distinctly different as the story progresses, but I wanted to make that connection as the overall tone of both is similar but not for all the right reasons. The story starts with visuals and fun, and I almost expected some audience interaction around stories the tree may tell or sounds it may make, but this is not that type of show, and the narrative quickly becomes more melancholic in tone and sets a downbeat note. We don’t really get a lot of time to learn about the budding relationship of the boy and the tree before the arrival of ‘the wind,’ and the following sadness feels rather abrupt. The resolution of the piece feels unsatisfying as it relies on external, yet unseen characters to save the day instead of allowing the protagonist to demonstrate growth or resourcefulness. There is a diminished sense of victory and learning that could have been a powerful takeaway for the audience.

The Tree and Her Tale is visually inventive and well-performed throughout, but it would benefit from a narrative crafted to consider the type of audience it will get and the emotional journey of the younger viewers; with some minor adjustments, this could easily become a cherished story that celebrates friendship and storytelling for its intended audience.

***
Reviewed by Matthew
Scottish Storytelling Centre-George Mackay Brown Library
Until 13th Aug
12.00 (55mins)