The Letter J make performance and art experiences for children and their communities.

SUPER HUMAN HEROES

Super Human Heroes have bad days too - Captain Sunshine is not living up to his name! Where's the all action superhero? Where's the run a hundred miles with a smile, Captain Sunshine gone? We miss his sunshine, his light, we miss feeling that everything is going to be alright. 

Sunny is blue; nothing will do. He's tired of being sunny - being good, great, funny, loving, smart - tired of playing the part. Who will save Captain Sunshine, if he cannot save himself? 

A comic and musical dance with darkness, Super Human Heroes is an exploration into the ways we are, fail and try to be super human heroes.

www.theletterj.org

Sam and Melody want to break a world record. They train every day. They want to be the best, the fastest, the strongest, the largest, the longest – anything so long as they get their names in the big record book. Their official record attempt is just around the corner, when a message brings news that will possibly break up the team forever and take them on a journey across the seas, through the waves and into the deep. A hilarious and tender story of friendship and record-breaking success. 

Devised by Caitlin Skinner, Alice Mary Cooper, Ben Winger and Edinburgh Science Festival

Director and Dramaturg: Caitlin Skinner

Designed by Mamoru Iriguchi

Presented by Edinburgh Science Festival, working in partnership with Scottish Theatre Producers and Imaginate

Epic Fail is a dance theatre exploration of failure, permission to fail and societal perceptions of success.

Is it really your fault? Is it a lesson in disguise? Is it even failure if you don't experience shame? We have all failed but how do we know when we have failed?  Who sets the measure of success and why do we accept it?  Is anyone really born to fail?  Featuring a highly skilled international cast of dancers and costume design from Fraser Lappin, we offer you a series of vignettes that encourage you to question your relationship to failure and the impact your opinions can have on those around you.  Maybe together we can fail better… whatever that means!

Cultured Mongrel is the creative handle of Emma Jayne Park: Dancer, Theatre Maker, Collaborator & Micro-Activist. ‘High octane… energetic, witty and playful’ (The Skinny), she encourages people to ask better questions through bringing together unique combinations of skilled artists to create uncompromising performance as a vehicle for social change. 

Supported by Creative Scotland, Edinburgh International Children's Festival, The Work Room and Dancebase with initial research supported by Scottish Ballet's mentorship scheme Scottish Ballet Creates.

THE POLAR BEARS GO, GO, GO!

A Unicorn Production in association with The Polar Bears

By Ivor MacAskill & Fiona Manson

Directed by Lee Lyford

Join the two very loveable but slightly hapless Polar Bears on their holiday adventures. Will they ever reach their destination? Or are they just going around in circles? 

Have your ticket ready, find your seat, fasten your seatbelt and anchors aweigh – take off and go, go, go! 

OTHER POLAR BEAR PRODUCTIONS

The Polar Bears Go Up

The Polar Bears and Unicorn Theatre co-production 

Created and performed by Eilidh MacAskill and Fiona Manson

Directed by Lee Lyford

The Polar Bears are moving up in the world. They’ve lost their balloon and they need to get it back. It’s time to Get up, Step up, climb up, jump up One thing’s for sure, the only way is Up!

These two lovable Polar Bears are intrepid explorers, famous for their wild expeditions. This time they’ll be climbing trees, jumping on clouds and reaching for the stars as they race all the way up to space. Of course, they’ll stop for sandwiches on the way!

A fun, surreal and highly enjoyable treat for children aged 2-5.

The Polar Bears are the creation of Eilidh MacAskill and Fiona Manson. Gentle, silent wanderers led by their sense of curiosity and their stomachs, the bears were originally created for an Imaginate Family Fringe event and since then have presented their walkabout performances and sit-down family shows across the UK. 

thepolarbears.org

Ailie is a puppeteer, performer, illustrator, designer and puppetry director creating emotionally rich and compelling theatrical experiences which highlight the beauty and surreal in the everyday.

Ailie has gone on to work as a performer, designer and maker for among others, National Theatre of Scotland, Grid Iron, TAG, The Citizens and Vanishing Point. Her own shows include 'I Vant to be Alone’, Rumpelstiltskin at the Fairytale Laundry', ‘Jazz Mouse’, 'The New Not New' and ‘Cloud Man’ which was Ailie’s first collaboration with Playwright and Director Lewis Hetherington.

Ailie and Lewis met one snowy winter in the North of Scotland, some years ago… They soon bonded over a love of creating theatre that uses objects, puppets and pictures to tell beautiful original stories which engage with the world we live in, and are full of heart, fun and magic.

They make work which is an invitation into fantastic and colourful story worlds which celebrate the extraordinary nature of the ordinary. Combining minimal, poetic text, a sumptuous handcrafted aesthetic and engaging characters they make work which lasts long in the imagination and memories of those who see it.

Together they have created 'Cloud Man' and 'The Secret Life of Suitcases'. Both productions have been presented as part of the Made in Scotland showcase.  Their work has travelled all over the world, delighting audiences in China, Dubai, Japan, America, Australia and extensively throughout the in the UK.

Ailie is an associate artist of Puppet State Theatre Company, with which she collaborated on ‘The Man Who Planted Trees’, and has toured worldwide since 2006.

Ailie has also worked for National Theatre of Scotland; Imaginate; and was co-deviser, performer, puppet and props maker for National Theatre London’s ‘Cupboard of Surprises’ Inside Out Festival 2012 which was part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

ailiecohen.com

Utter is a new work company, led by Co-Artistic Directors Gareth Nicholls and Joe Douglas, dedicated to developing and touring exhilarating story-led work that make our audiences feel, think and experience the world in a new light. 

The company places collaboration and talent development at its heart, working with a diverse array of exceptional artists, to tell urgent theatrical stories that say something about the world around us in fresh adventurous ways.

Our first show Educating Ronnie (A Macrobert/Utter production)won a Fringe First in 2012 before touring extensively across the UK, while our second show Bloody Trams (Traverse Theatre Company in association with Utter) has had two sell-out runs at the Traverse theatre gaining exceptional four-star reviews across the board.

Our recent production of Stand By premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe as part of the Made in Scotland showcase 2017. It received a Scotsman Fringe First award and enjoyed a successful sell out tour across Scotland in autumn 2017. 

Stand By

Produced by Utter, in association with The Byre Theatre, St Andrews
Written by Adam McNamara
Directed by Joe Douglas
Written by a former Police Officer, Stand By shows the modern-day Police Service laid bare.
www.uttertheatre.co.uk