The Truth About Trees

Aug 17 2025 | By Sophie Good More

★★★☆☆ Sweet

Assembly George Square (Venue 8): Thur 31 July – Sun 24 Aug (2025
Review by Sophie Good

Edinburgh-based Apropos Theatre bring The Truth About Trees, a charming new work of nature storytelling to the fringe, sharing the inner life of trees to the Assembly George Sq for children aged over five.

It’s a small and intimate space at the Crate, and the performers chat informally with the young audience as they enter. Soon though, Alfie (played by writer Alex Zawalynski) is lying in his bed, trying to read to distract himself from the storm outside.

Alfie Climbing. Pic: Darius Eastwood.

He discovers a book which he had forgotten about, gifted by his Grandpa – which seems to have a magic tale inside. It’s a tale told to us through the pages made from the tree that made the paper.

Alfie is taken on a journey, and so are the audience, discovering not only how paper is made but many more magical wonders of nature.

The set is simple, but the use of shadows and puppetry take us far beyond Alfie’s bedroom.

Performers Morgan Ferguson and Niamh Blane do a great job in using an old fashioned projector to show how rain falls on soil and makes the trees grow. They also play all the other people in Alfie’s life – mum, grandpa and the less than caring folk from his village who are willing to see a forest be culled to make way for offices.

engaging and transfixing

At one point, Ferguson and Blane become puppeteers for an engaging and transfixing sequence where they take a sweet hand whittled wooden version of Alfie up a large tree in a king kong style, as he scales a bookshelf.

Niamh Blane and Laura Hounsell with Puppet Alfie. Pic: Darius Eastwood)

The switch from human Alfie to puppet is a little on the clunky side and it would have bee nice to see more of puppet Alfie, since he is enjoyable and took the story to a new level.

Laura Hounsell directs the pace of the piece well, supported by Annabel Lunney as producer – the stagecraft throughout the show is a delight; varied and with a gentle rhythm.

The show is recommended for age fiveplus. As it is 50 mins and has a proper storyline, some children might struggle to engage for that long. Æ’s eight year-old reviewer followed the whole thing along and it held her attention throughout.

somewhat ambiguous

It’s a story with a somewhat ambiguous ending, since it doesn’t follow the expected turns of Alfie turning out to be a successful young tree-hugging activist, but the fact about an oak tree producing a million acorns to make one full size tree is resonant and effective.

The Truth About Trees would suit young people who find the larger venues noisy and overwhelming. It’s a hug for the soul and a sweet tale, told in a truly imaginative way.

Running time: 50 minutes (no interval).
Assembly George Square (The Crate), George Square EH8 9LH (Venue 8).
Thurs 31 July – Sunday 24 August 2025.
Daily (Not Mons 11 & 18): 11.50pm.
Tickets and details: Book here on EdFringe.com.
Book here on EdFest.com.*