Once Upon A Dragon
May 2007
Cammo Estate, Imaginate Festival Edinburgh
Itxaso, Once Upon A Dragon
" I still have to keep everything secret
I still have to burn in the fire
and stay alive in the belly of the wolf
I still have to prick my finger
and sleep for almost a hundred years
but first I have to find the way
I still have to find the way
but I do so long for a basket full of shimmering pearls
"
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.