ALLOTMENT is a darkly funny play about two green-fingered sisters, Dora and Maddy, who live out their rivalry among the plants. It first saw life on a real allotment in Inverleith during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2011, when it won a Scotsman Fringe First Award, as well as the inaugural Fringe Award for Sustainable Practice in the Arts from the CSPA.
ALLOTMENT was directed by Kate Nelson of Nutshell Theatre. The original cast were Pauline Goldsmith and Nicola Jo Cully, with Gowan Calder taking over from Pauline the next year, with a national tour of gardens and outdoor spaces from Inverness to Cornwall.
The company first visited Inverleith Allotments on a grim day in February, and over the next few months, the site blossomed beautifully into a lush backdrop, complete with live bees. On tour, every production was set against a different planted backdrop, often created by local community groups. We also had some fabulous visitor book comments from the intrepid audience – thank you!
Some gathered stars for Allotment:
***** Fringe Review
**** Telegraph
**** The List
**** Scotsman
**** Three Weeks
**** British Theatre Guide
**** What’s On Stage
Must See! The Stage
I was delighted to see Nutshell Theatre tour a new production of Allotment again in 2021, with the help of a touring grant from Creative Scotland. The play was conceived for outdoor settings and despite the pandemic limitations, worked beautifully in its new incarnation, again with Gowan Calder and Nicola Jo Cully performing as Dora and Maddy. Very interesting to see how it resonated ten years on!
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