Production photography for Leaf by Niggle, by Puppet State Theatre Company.

JRR Tolkien’s Leaf By Niggle premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre Studio Thu 14 to Sat 16 Apr followed by Sat 23 Apr at Macrobert Arts Playhouse, Stirling and Fri 29 & Sat 30 Apr at Tron Theatre, Glasgow. on going touring dates until 30th July.

In 1939 Tolkien was despairing of ever bringing his great work The Lord of the Rings to a conclusion. One morning he woke up with the story Leaf by Niggle complete in his mind and wrote it down. This poignant story, about an artist on a curious journey, is often seen as an allegory of the writer’s own creative process and life.

Surrounded by ladders, bicycles, easels and heirlooms, Richard Medrington (Jean from The Man Who Planted Trees) recounts Tolkien’s miniature masterpiece, with a soundtrack composed by Karine Polwart and Michael John McCarthy.