Puppet show lets imaginations soar

Every once in a while, a children’s story appears on the horizon that is so touching and so moving we cannot wait to be immersed in it.

Such is The Man Who Planted Trees, a sweetly charming tale of lonely shepherd who over a space of 30 years, between Europe’s two transformative world wars, quietly plants a forest in a devastated area of France.

“It’s more than just an environment story. It’s about an attitude. It’s about a guy who does something for no financial reward. In fact, no one knows he’s doing it and he receives no recognition. Yet this dedication brings him health and happiness,” says Richard Medrington, founder of Scotland’s Puppet State Theatre Company.

The puppeteers perform this moving multi-character tale at the International Children’s Festival running June 1 to 5 in downtown St. Albert.

Jean Giono penned the original story after Reader’s Digest asked him to submit a magazine feature on the most extraordinary person he had ever met. When the magazine discovered ElzĂ©ard Bouffier, the main character, had never existed they refused to publish the story.

Giono’s response was simple. “Of all my stories it is one of the ones of which I am most proud. It has never earned me a penny and for that reason it has accomplished the very purpose for which it was written.”

Although the tree-planting shepherd and his faithful dog reforesting a desolate valley one tree at a time are pure invention, Medrington once met a head teacher on the Isle of Mull that worked as a forester in France. He told the puppeteers that there are mysterious forested areas of Provence that according to maps should be all scrub. “The French Forest Commission hasn’t planted trees in that area and doesn’t know who did.”

Four years ago Medrington along with his co-partner Rick Conte, developed the puppet show with a silent shepherd and his wacky companion dog. The villain is a wily politician that wants to cut down the forest for war supplies.

Puppet-maker Ailie Cohen has fashioned the ragdoll puppets out of burlap and there’s a multi-sensory soundtrack filled with sounds of wind, rain and birds. “It’s a very low tech show. We’re trying to tap into the audience’s imagination.”

Although Medrington and Conte believed in this project when they started it four years ago, they had no idea it would generate a wealth of awards and continue to be in demand from Broadway to Kuala Lumpur.

“This is a story that Jean Giono planted in 1953, and it’s really blossoming and getting more relevant every day.”