Photo credit: Tim Morozzo

Photo credit: Tim Morozzo

Photo credit: Tim Morozzo

Photo credit: Tim Morozzo

Photo credit: Tim Morozzo

Once Upon A Dragon

Cammo Estate, Imaginate Festival Edinburgh

May 2007

In May 2007 Grid Iron presented the UK premiere of Once Upon A Dragon by Pauline Mol, translated by Rina Vergano. Set in the luscious and magical landscape of Cammo Estate in Edinburgh, the production celebrated the way young children play with the familiar and not-so-familiar tales of the Brothers Grimm.

In keeping with much Dutch children’s theatre, the play comes at its subject matter from the perspective of its natural audience, five-seven year olds.In three key locations in the woods, on a ruined stately home, under a canopy tree and in a deep woodland grove, the Grid Iron actors delved into their own childhoods and created a joyous, free and serious playing style that complemented the rigour and childlike quality of Pauline Mol’s writing.

Once Upon A Dragon was the first production Grid Iron have made for children. It played for sixteen sell-out performances at the Bank of Scotland Children’s International Theatre Festival from 22-28th May.

Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman

every aspect of this lush, green landscape reflects the imagery of our great fairytales with a precision that makes Becky Minto’s design into a rich, strange visual pleasure, like the fulfilment of a childhood dream. . .a real theatrical tour-de-force. . .the story of two foolish giants is one of those never-to-be-forgotten moments that only the best site-specific theatre can produce, and every story contains moments that catch the breath with the same visual and aural magic. . .It’s difficult to think of any children’s show I’ve ever seen that more perfectly fulfills the remit of taking us, for a while, into a world of strange, frightening magic and archetypal adventure. . .with a touch of producer Judith Doherty’s magic wand and director Ben Harrison’s book of spells [they] transform the wood into the enchanted one of our dreams.

Mary Brennan, The Herald

Everywhere the stories take us there’s music in the air, or on the hoof with Pete Garnett a Pied Piper with accordion, rather than a pipe…[the text] gets an adrenalin boost by the sheer gusto of the acting, direction (Ben Harrison) and design (Becky Minto). Grid Iron’s site-specific work for adult audiences has been acclaimed worldwide, now they’ve poured their skills into a fabulous treat for children. Go while you can.