Tall Stories Celebrates 21st Birthday At Edinburgh Festival Fringe With The World Premiere of THE CANTERVILLE GHOST, and the Edinburgh Premiere of WILDE CREATURES

Tall Stories returns to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year with two Oscar Wilde adaptations, including the World Premiere of 'THE CANTERVILLE GHOST' and the Edinburgh premiere of 'WILDE CREATURES'. The shows play in rep at Pleasance Courtyard from 1-26 August 2018.

The 1997 Edinburgh Fringe saw the premiere of the company's first show, 'The Happy Prince and Other Stories', adapted from Oscar Wilde's fairy tales. 21 years later, Tall Stories returns to the Edinburgh Fringe with two distinctive Wilde adaptations - one of which is aimed at a grown-up audience, in an extension of the company's more usual work for families.

The cast for both productions are Matt Jopling, Tom Jude, Steve McCourt and Lauren Silver. In 'THE CANTERVILLE GHOST', Steve McCourt plays 'The Compere', Tom Jude plays 'The Illusionist', Lauren Silver plays 'The Psychic' and Matt Jopling plays 'The Comedian'. Together these four vaudevillians bring Oscar Wilde's chilling and comic ghost story to life.

When the Otis family move into Canterville Hall, they're warned about the fearsome ghost that stalks its corridors. But the Otis family are a thoroughly modern bunch - has anyone warned the Canterville Ghost about them?

In 'WILDE CREATURES' the cast will be playing storytelling musicians; Matt Jopling will be on Guitar, Tom Jude on Violin, Steve McCourt on Bass and Lauren Silver on Clarinet.

Direct from Sydney Opera House and London's West End, Tall Stories is delighted to be bringing 'WILDE CREATURES' back to the stage for its Edinburgh premiere. A group of storytelling musicians bring Oscar Wilde's hauntingly beautiful fairy tales to life for everyone aged 5 to 105, with original live music and a generous dash of comedy.

Characters from 'The Happy Prince' and other stories spring to life as the pompous mayor, the petulant princess and the love-sick student compete to become the new town statue. This production was originally co-produced by Nica Burns and formed part of Dominic Dromgoole's year-long celebration of Oscar Wilde at the Vaudeville Theatre, London, presented by Classic Spring.

Both productions are directed and written by Olivia Jacobs and Toby Mitchell, Design by Barney George, Music and Lyrics by Jon Fiber and Andy Shaw for Jollygoodtunes, Lighting Design by Peter Harrison, Choreographer is Morag Cross. 'THE CANTERVILLE GHOST' also employs noted Magic Supervisor, Scott Penrose.

Since joint artistic directors Olivia Jacobs and Toby Mitchell founded Tall Stories in 1997, they have co-created and staged 30 productions, in 5 languages, in 15 countries, over 6 continents - with performances at the Sydney Opera House, on Broadway and in London's West End. Their most noted and Popular Productions include 'THE GRUFFALO', 'ROOM ON THE BROOM' and 'THE SNOW DRAGON'.

A registered charity, Tall Stories currently produces a mix of small-scale and larger-scale shows - the larger ones subsidising the smaller ones. The company has also received occasional support from Arts Council England, among other funders.