International Children’s Festival:The Man who Planted Trees.
by the Puppet State Theatre from Scotland 
A work of the same name, by the award winning creator of animated films Frédéric BACK is at the origin of this performance that was based on the life of Elzéard Bouffier, a shepherd from the south of France, as told by French novellist Jean Giono. Giono is known for his novels dealing with the agricultural world of the south of France where poor farmers are often in disputes with neighbours, fighting over land but mostly over water because certain areas of the south are so arid. The lack of water brings many individuals to despair. (You might have seen Manon des Sources for example or the whole series of Giono’s films that were very good indeed). Here the performance from the Puppet State Theatre from Scotland, brings together among other things a slick puppet performance involving some good ventriloquist techniques by the manipulator of the puppet who is called “DOG”. He is a would be actor and self conscious performer who has to get his nose into everything. A regular little smart aleck of the kind we used to see on the Ed Sullivan show, or the Casino circuit, who delighted the adults with racy jokes, Here his vocabularly has calmed down and it is very suitable for children. I’m sorry they never told us the name of the actor who spoke for him because his repartees and quick answers brought gales of laughter from the whole house.
As the “straight” man in this show, the other actor, whose name we didnt know either, told us the more serious side of the story about this wonderful shepherd who planted thousands and thousands of trees around the area and completely transformed the ecology of that part of France.
They have a little puppet set, built to scale, the houses, the trees, the props that add smell, and colour, all the visual delights of birds and flowers as the country flourishes.
They even integrate a background of French history involving the the collaborators who ruled France after 1939, when people began cutting down trees to make charcoal for heating the homes during the second world war. The wrong politics is associated with bad ecological habits as we now see in Canada!” The French puppet who incarnated that period of enemy occupation strangely ressembled a vampire with his pale white face, his black pointed hairline, black sideburns and moustache. The references to that period obviously were lost on the children but I’m sure that adults had no trouble understanding what was meant here, no doubt also remnants of the love/hate relationship beween the British and the French which is always barely skin deep.
The doggy comedy brings much to the ecological message that is emphaszied at the end when the duo brings out all the marvllous props, filling the theatre with perfume and flowers and a wonderful happiness that was inherited from all the good works of this amazing man.
A beautiful play by this team of Scottish actors and puppet masters, with a message that is extremely timely and you certainly feel the empathy of the audience
Definitely for older children, this is a play that has a touching and powerful message: . The Man who Planted Trees