Sandport Industrial Estate in Leith: that’s where the hard work for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2010 is currently taking place for a young children’s theatre production company. Tortoises in a Nutshell are returning for the second time to the Fringe with their new show: The Last Miner.Last year they made their Fringe debut with Twine, which was financed entirely by the members of the small production company. However, 2010 will prove to be a new challenge for the group having won funding for their new show from the Ideas Tap Edinburgh Award. They won this award out of a field of nearly 200 so there will be more than a few envious eyes on their production this year. Winning funding this year will allow the company to commit full-time to the production instead of juggling other jobs throughout as well as sourcing materials especially for the production.A number of issues have had to be taken into consideration when planning to construct the new set for The Last Miner. The funding secured by the company has allowed them to source materials especially for the show instead of scavenging for things that might look a bit like a prop. However, this doesn’t mean that everything you see on stage will be expensive; lolly sticks have been the surprise find so far to create placards. There is also a selection of delicate clay crockery that is to be handled one of the puppets that will star in the new show. The designer is currently working on creating the remaining props for the show through a combination of good fortune and trial and error.The puppets that star in the show are also themselves yet to be created: the company are consulting puppeteer veterans in order to ensure the puppets function exactly how they want them to. This means that the actors have been using prototypes up until now so that any modifications can be made easily in the final puppet. The set is also currently in a prototype stage for similar reasons. It may be only one month to go until the show debuts at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe but the company still expects numerous little tweaks to the production between now and then. Intensive rehearsals for The Last Miner are set to begin in the first week of July and during that period the production will really begin to take shape: the puppets will be modified; the set will be completed; the final props will be constructed and there will be more tweaks made than in the previous six months. Simple really.The Last Miner will be performed 5th – 30th August [Not Tuesdays] at the Hill Street Theatre
