Grandad and Me is a living storybook about loss, longing and the treasures of memory and imagination. We meet a young girl who is missing her Grandad – he has gone, even though his favourite job was being her Grandad. Led by found objects and her imagination, she traces his footsteps on a magical adventure through time and space.
illustration by The Grey Earl
REVIEWS FROM IMAGINATE FESTIVAL 2014 AND 2-WEEK TOUR, MAY 2014:
“Grandad And Me (4 stars ****), a luscious-looking and tremendously moving show from the new Glasgow-based company The Letter J… a rich and steady interaction between the show’s beautiful design and animation, the live sound, music and voices provided by co-creators Judith Williams and Jon Bishop, and the central performance of Marta Masiero as the little girl;”
— Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman, 10 May 2014
“…gorgeously detailed and nostalgic set, wonderful live music and beautifully simple projected animation.”
— Mark Brown, Herald on Sunday, 11 May 2014
“Grandad and Me (4 stars ****) …the show is filled with cheeky exuberance and surprises that evoke gasps and laughter throughout. With the rather lovely philosophy of ‘sleep tight – live bright’, this entrancing tale based on the bond between generations is a tremendous finale to Imaginate’s 25th year.”
— Irene Brown, The EdinburghGuide.com, 12 May 2014
“…crammed with fresh invention and adorable surprises.”
— Mary Brennan, The Herald, 8 May 2014
“THE Big Idea, a family day at Tramway (in association with Imaginate), really flew the flag for home-grown children’s theatre when it offered workshops, installations and work-in-progress showings for under-12s by up and coming Scottish artists.The Letter J only started devising Grandpa and Me a couple of weeks ago: you simply wouldn’t know it from the beautifully-crafted, whimsical mosaic of music, movement and animation that they create on-stage.
A little girl (dancer Ruth Janssen, unaffectedly child-like and spontaneous) is missing her Grandpa…Where is he? Imagination takes over in episodes that see him at sea in a trawler – the Shipping Forecast song is a joy – or in a rocket to the moon, with the whole set transforming accordingly with animated projections. Judith Williams and Jon Bishop weave in the live music, but it’s Janssen’s blend of wistful wondering and exuberant “solutions” that touchingly suggest how youngsters (aged 5 to 8, in particular) adjust to the grief and loss of an absent, much-loved Grandpa.”
WHERE WE'VE BEEN…
EDINBURGH FESTIVAL 2015
We were delighted to take Grandad and Me to the Edinburgh Festival 2015 as part of the Made in Scotland showcase. We performed at Summerhall for two weeks in August. We had lovely reviews, many a top ten listing and were short-listed for the Best Visual and Physical Theatre Total Theatre Award.
The Letter J premiered Grandad and Me at Imaginate Festival 2014 and has visited the following venues since:
North Edinburgh Arts Centre - Imaginate Festival, Edinburgh - 2014
Tramway - Glasgow - 2014
Eden Court - Inverness - 2014
Eigg Community Hall - Eigg - 2014
Dunoon Burgh Hall - Dunoon - 2014
Platform - Easterhouse - 2014
The Palace Theatre - Kilmarnock - 2014
Birnam Arts Centre - Perth - 2014
Summerhall - Edinburgh Festival Fringe - Made in Scotland Showcase and Total Theatre award nomination - 2015
Attenborough Arts Centre - Leicester - The Spark Arts Festival for children - 2016
Battersea Arts Centre - London - 2016
Platform - Easterhouse 2018
Byre Theatre - St Andrews - 2018
Beacon arts Centre - Greenock - 2018
Dundee Rep - Dundee - 2018
Woodend Barn - Banchory - 2018
LemonTree - Aberdeen - 2018
Eastgate Theatre - Peebles - 2018
Falkirk Town Hall - Falkirk - 2018
Paisley Arts Centre - Paisley - 2018
Storytelling Centre - Edinburgh - 2018
Macrobert Arts Centre - Stirling - 2018
THANK YOUS….
Huge love and thanks to those who came to see us along the way.
The creation of Grandad and Me and the tour in May 2014 was supported by Quality Production Funding from Creative Scotland, development funding from Imaginate, The Touring Network, and a donation towards the costs of touring by the Educational Institute of Scotland, and was developed in association with Platform and Dance House Creative Lab residency. Thank you to all of our supporters.
And extra LOVE AND THANKS to all the folks at Imaginate who have offered advice, whoops and cheers along the way to make it so - Jude is one of their Associate Artists. Matt and all the very brilliant staff at Platform who have encouraged and supported us with space, hammers and yums yums. Not to mention all the generous folks who donated on Kickstarter. We're counting our blessing and counting you twice!