* * * * *

Not unlike another city you might know, it always rains in Tumblewater. Based on Bruno Vincent’s novel, ‘Grisly Tales From Tumblewater’ is an enchanting fairytale vividly brought to life by Edward Jaspers. Replete with satchel, top-hat and easy-going charm, Jaspers takes us on an hour-long, fantastical romp through the wettest place in the world. Tumblewater is peopled with a series of weird and wonderful individuals – from the narrator, orphan and would-be doctor Daniel Dory, to the sinister Caspian Prye, who “was a good man, once” before heartbreak turned him into something “not even human” – and Jaspers is on brilliant form as he skips from character to character. Witty, musical and magical, ‘Grisly Tales From Tumblewater’ is a fabulous adaptation.

Ellie Blow

Three Weeks Magazine

* * * *

Summoning up the twisted ghost of Struwwelpeter to the Pleasance Courtyard, Grisly Tales from Tumblewater is full of the kind of cheerfully bloody morality stories that are sure to delight children and adults alike.

Multi-talented performer Edward Jaspers plays innocent orphan Daniel Dorey, whose dreams of becoming a doctor are dashed when he reaches the grim town of Tumblewater, where it never stops raining. Forces beyond his understanding are planning to use him as a pawn in a decades-long battle involving his missing sister, and soon he’s on the run and embroiled with the Underground resistance fighters. As if this weren’t enough, everyone he meets has a song to sing and a story to tell. It’s astonishing how much Teasel Theatre have managed to pack into this hour, and although Jaspers is soaked with sweat by the end, nothing feels rushed.

Particular highlights include the song of the girl who wouldn’t stop picking her nose and the various chases between Dorey and the police told in the form of horse racing commentary, which makes them very exciting. However, even when things go off-course, Jaspers makes the most of it – when he misnames Dorey’s guardians as “Mr and Mr,” he stops, chuckles to himself and says to the audience, “Mr and Mr? That would be modern!” He easily includes the audience in the joke, and everyone enjoys feeling that they’re a part of his gang.

Ideal for kids from the age of 9 up, there are moments that do require a child of a sturdy constitution – the story of the baker finding a baby turns particularly macabre, and actually made me feel a bit sick. You might want to cover their ears for that one, but otherwise this is a thoroughly enjoyable, and wonderfully vibrant, show.

Caroline Whitham

Edinburgh Festivals Magazine

1. ** * *
   

Devised from the novel by Bruno Vincent, Teasel Theatre’s rip-roaring production of Grisly Tales From Tumblewater is an exciting and darkly comic delight with a pitch-perfect performance at its core.

With little more than a torch and a top hat, Edward Jaspers takes us above and beneath the rain-soaked streets of Tumblewater, a city squeezed in a dual grip by an evil landowner and a malevolent witch. Jaspers plays daring orphan Daniel Dorey, who arrives in Tumblewater on a quest to find his estranged sister and finds himself caught up in all manner of escapades and adventures.

Jaspers’ performance is impressive here: with limited props and a set consisting entirely of a single stepladder, he successfully recreates all the dripping atmosphere and sinister mood of Tumblewater, jumping between the grotesque characters with ease and never once losing the audience in the process. Possessing an appealing charm and first-rate comic timing, his delivery wins over adults and children alike, although some parts of the tale he tells may be a little too dark for the very young.

Expressive, physical and also performing the piece’s several songs (the method by which the majority of the tales are told), Jaspers proves to be a captivating storyteller who – for those who find the morality tales of Roald Dahl or the gothic tingle of Lemony Snicket appealing – spins a yarn which grips from the initial downpour all the way through to the first glimpse of sunshine at the end.

Keith D

Edinburgh Spotlight

In a festival which can often feel overburdened with one-man shows, Teasel Theatre's adaptation of the Bruno Vincent novel provides a beacon of lighthearted pleasure.

Here under Tumblewater's drenching sky, Daniel Dorey, fresh from the orphanage and new in town, is already on the run from the dreaded Caspian Prye as he tries to find the sister he never knew he had. It's pure gothic entertainment, aimed by Vincent at a young readership.

In recreating Daniel, Edward Jaspers gives the originals' fans what is needed, while finding something which anyone over the age of about eight can thoroughly enjoy. He pitches in the odd meta-theatrical pun – heightening his already highly physical story-telling style. Wiping the dirt off a brass nameplate to discover it reads "School of Mime" is just one such treat.

It is the macabre tales, told in song, which really stand out, though. The grisly endings are obvious from long before they arrive but they are no less shriek-inducing for it.
Not that any of the shrieks or called-out suggestions phase Jaspers. The audience is, from the opening scene, complicit in the performance and he is happy to bring them in as googly eyes in a dank wall or old pals in a pub as needed.

A great story told by a great story-teller.

Thom Dibdin

The Stage

Adapted from Bruno Vincent's children's book of the same name, Teasel Theatre's one-man show is self-knowing enough to entertain audiences of all ages and has just the right amount of grisliness to avoid scaring anyone - although a tale involving a baby mistaken for a loaf of bread comes close.

Performed by the bright-eyed and infectiously enthusiastic Edward Jaspers - dressed in an ensemble comprising shorts, braces, a top hat and wellies - it charts the journey of Daniel Dorey, a young(ish) orphan who travels to the disquieting town of Tumblewater to become a doctor and rescue his sister from an evil land baron and a malicious witch.

En route, he encounters a string of weird and eccentric characters, and through songs performed with a mandolin and penny whistle and a set consisting of only a ladder, we learn of their macabre little stories.

Jaspers is a compelling host, interjecting the script with moments of effortless improvisation as he picks out audience members to deliver his lines to and ensures that everyone gets involved. At times playfully self-referential, the show has a brilliant twist midway through and an inviting atmosphere which cheers the soul and remains with you long after it has finished.

Sally Stott

The Scotsman

Ed Jaspers performs in a solo storytelling piece about a young orphaned man who arrives in the strange, rainy and sinister town of Tumblewater, intent on finding his long lost sister and facing up to the dangerous landowner Caspian Prye. Based on the novel by Bruno Vincent which was longlisted for the Waterstone's Prize, the show tells the tale of a town of people who tell each other grisly, gruesome tales to distract themselves from the tough times they are facing, and the mysterious Victorian town at the heart of it.

The show as a whole is beautifully engaging. The story itself is the perfect combination of surreal, gruesome and strangely lovely, balanced enough to keep children interested while still keeping adults entertained. Jaspers gives an energetic, enthusiastic and skilled performance as a range of diverse and sometimes bizarre characters, and also provides the slightly dark songs to accompany the story in the form of a mandolin and vocals. The minimal props and space are used creatively and help to conjur up the range of weird and wonderful locations within Tumblewater.

An example of skilled, one-man storytelling, and a great show whether you have children to take with you or not.

Julia Hogg

Broadway World

Grisly Tales From Tumblewater opens with a sound track of rain, gloomy light and glorious verbal descriptions of degrees of deluge experienced constantly in Tumblewater town. Solo performer Edward Jaspers's adroit vocal delivery and accomplished mime skills make this potentially driech hour an hour of splendid storytelling, directed by Caroline Horton. He bounces around the stage with a rare finesse, using his prop ladder as many different settings through which the central character Daniel Dorey finds himself driven by circumstances.

Daniel Dorey is an orphan, recently released into a terrifyingly unkind world from the orphanage in which he has spent all his life. Where he lands, twisted landowner Caspian Prye controls everything and everyone, even the police. At 16, all plans made for him by the people who run the orphanage are scuppered by scurrilous thieves and he is catapulted into many a chase, as he hunts for his long-lost sister.

Throughout Daniel's journey he introduces choice characters with Grisly Tales. Edward Jaspers delivers each of them with gusto and skill. He plays tin whistle and mandolin from time to time, creating atmospheric change and melodious interludes, changing the rhythms of this fast-paced tale in delightful moments of stillness. He plays men and women with equal power, enlivened by an endearing playfulness.

Edward Jaspers is handsome and personable, winning with easy charm and graceful, centred acting. Each of the characters is well-drawn and distinct. There are horrid caricature humans, magical beings, and others - genuinely nuanced, likeable people - peppered through the narrative. The performer's movement pieces are a tour de force of mime laced with delights of articulation. He uses many voices, changes of pace and style, while maintaining a strong, clear central thread and creating an atmosphere of warm-hearted, non-threatening camaraderie from the start.

Grisly Tales From Tumblewater is a sparkling diamond of a show: magical storytelling for all ages.

Lilian Kennedy Brzoska 

Fringe Report