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 the 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.
