one4review | On 06, Aug 2025

The Truth About Trees centres around a little boy named Alfie who discovers the stories of trees through magical paper. His grandpa teaches him how paper can carry the memories of trees and their wondrous stories; it’s a sweet premise. Conflict comes in the stereotypical nature vs. progress trope ‘man wants to cut down the forest for buildings’. I expected an evil developer and a heart vs. head plot to ‘save the trees’, but this show surprisingly doesn’t completely go down that well-trodden path, which was, at least, refreshing. The use of shadow puppetry through an overhead projector, along with some unexpected moments, enhances the show’s heartwarming quality.

The cast of actors do their best with the material and are engaging from the off as they greet us in the venue. The atmosphere throughout the show is warm, earnest and slow-moving, which is great if you want something that won’t overstimulate little ones. Alfie’s innocent want to preserve the trees and nature as a whole is sweet and endearing, and the creative staging does give the whole thing a handmade and charming quality. The cast are three energetic actors, two taking on multiple roles, but the writing relies heavily on archetypes. With that said, the humour is simplistic and will work well for young children, although older ones may find the predictable tone less engaging.

The environmental message does at times feel somewhat forced, and certain elements are shoehorned in for plot’s sake (Grandpa’s paper-making machine feels like quite the contrived plot device), while other aspects are just unrealistic (the overly simplified ending, sadly). With that said, there is still a lot to like here; lots of visual creativity, paper leaves handed out at the end with a fun nature-themed task for the audience and good intentions overall still make this a worthwhile outing for families with smaller children, though older ones may find it a tad hollow.

***

Reviewed by Matthew

Assembly George Square

11.50 (50 mins)

Until 24 Aug (not 11 or 18)