Doppler

Adapted and directed by Ben Harrison
From the novel by Erlend Loe, translated by Don Bartlett and Don Shaw

An outdoor, site-responsive performance for a seated audience.

6th – 23rd August 2021 as part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

The woodland of Newhailes House and Gardens, Musselburgh.
A National Trust for Scotland property.

AWARDS

  • Nominated: Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland – Best Actor and Best Technical Presentation categories.

Doppler - illustration

“I am a man of my time. A failed man of my time. Or just a man of a failed time. Depending on how you look at it.”

Doppler had everything. He thought.

Wife, two kids, 23-hour working week and time to ride his bicycle. Until the accident. Now he lives in a forest just outside Oslo with a baby elk.

Come into the woods with Grid Iron for this funny and subversive fable about existence, consumerism and trying to live life in isolation when people just won’t leave you alone.

In August 2020, Grid Iron came so very, very close to giving some live performances of this show but, thwarted at the eleventh hour, we changed plans and decamped to a gorgeous woodland in Gifford, East Lothian, to film the production. Our plans were thwarted even further by the arrival of Storm Francis on our shores…

We took the footage we were able to gather between the downpours, edited it together with Zoom recordings of production meetings and rehearsals and added interviews with the cast, production team and leading industry figures to create a documentary film called Doppler: The Story So Far.

Viewed during it’s first release by just under 10,000 people, the documentary is once again free to view on YouTube via the link below so please watch if you haven’t already.

But in August 2021 we were finally able to bring Doppler fully to life in a shady woodland glade in the beautiful grounds of Newhailes House, a National Trust for Scotland property on the outskirts of Musselburgh, as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

While still adhering to 1m social distancing and other Covid-safety protocols, the show played to sold-out audiences and received a fantastic response from the critics.

Most of all, it was just good to be back, doing what we do best – making live theatre, for live audiences, in a glorious setting.

There was a BSL interpreted performance on Doppler. Two were scheduled but unfortunately one was lost to bad weather.

.

Doppler - poster

There was a BSL interpreted performance on Doppler. Two were scheduled but unfortunately one was lost to bad weather.

Production Photography by Duncan McGlynn

  • Production Photographs for Grid Iron’s Doppler at Newhales Park, Musselburgh, Scotland.
  • Production Photographs for Grid Iron’s Doppler at Newhales Park, Musselburgh, Scotland.
  • Production Photographs for Grid Iron’s Doppler at Newhales Park, Musselburgh, Scotland.
  • Production Photographs for Grid Iron’s Doppler at Newhales Park, Musselburgh, Scotland.
  • Production Photographs for Grid Iron’s Doppler at Newhales Park, Musselburgh, Scotland.
  • Production Photographs for Grid Iron’s Doppler at Newhales Park, Musselburgh, Scotland.
  • Production Photographs for Grid Iron’s Doppler at Newhales Park, Musselburgh, Scotland.
  • Production Photographs for Grid Iron’s Doppler at Newhales Park, Musselburgh, Scotland.
  • Production Photographs for Grid Iron’s Doppler at Newhales Park, Musselburgh, Scotland.
  • Production Photographs for Grid Iron’s Doppler at Newhales Park, Musselburgh, Scotland.
  • Production Photographs for Grid Iron’s Doppler at Newhales Park, Musselburgh, Scotland.
  • Production Photographs for Grid Iron’s Doppler at Newhales Park, Musselburgh, Scotland.
PreviousNext
123456789101112
What The Press Said

“a mightily complex and disturbing meditation for our time, delivered with a light-touch brilliance – and a string sense of comedy – that never obscures the significance of the themes at hand… powerfully entertaining… it is a measure of the brilliance of Keith Fleming’s performance as Doppler that he encompasses every aspect of this hugely complex character with apparent ease and immense story-telling skill… flawless production”

“a sensory show, and immersive in the best sense of the word. The scent of campfire lingers and Nik Paget-Tomlinson’s sound design is everywhere, merging with the forest surroundings in subtle and ingenious ways. Becky’s Minto’s set is similarly in sync with the environment, adding to the natural stage rather than disrupting it. David A Pollock’s organic score further underpins the atmospheric, immersive nature of the experience… originally intended to debut in 2019 and postponed due to COVID, Doppler was well worth the wait.”

“beauty and magic”

“Grid Iron has brilliantly transposed this Norwegian tale, of a man who leaves his family to live in a tent, to the grounds of a National Trust for Scotland property. If there is one company well suited to adapting to the Covid pandemic it is Grid Iron. The Edinburgh specialist in site-responsive theatre is never seen in the same place twice.  Inviting us to a woodland corner where we sit on socially distanced tree stumps is something we would have done anyway… a tremendous performance.”

“If you go down to the woods over the next couple of weeks, weather permitting, the surprise in Grid Iron theatre company’s long awaited new outdoor show comes in just how well an open space can work for such expansive material… an inadvertently timely study of one man’s self-isolation and the need to sometimes get back to nature… Despite the seriousness of the material, there is a lightness at play”

“Ben Harrison directs with nuance.  He’s not afraid to bring the pace to a near standstill…, or to drive it forward with ferocity when required.  His adaptation is clever too, punctuated by comic moments… a fascinating examination of modern masculinity and the relationship between father and sons”

“hugely enjoyable”

“wonderfully cartoonish and darkly comic… The beauty of Harrison’s clever production is that it creates a brilliant balance between the character of Doppler (as the fixed, if somewhat unhinged, centre of the story) and the other characters (such as Bosse, the consummately named posh, reactionary eccentric).  While Fleming gives a performance that is a perfectly calibrated combination of plausible rationale and wide-eyed lunacy, Tylor and Hay are at liberty to play the orbiting characters as gloriously colourful caricatures… an original, funny and thought-provoking piece of theatre.”

“funny, thought-provoking and deftly, adroitly sketched… It’s a polemic against capitalism, acquisition, superficial success… a timely reflection on the role we could and should be playing to support rather than thwart the planet we live on… In some ways this is a daft story but the stoic sincerity of the cast makes it magnificent… a fascinating live show.”

“one of this year’s most anticipated productions”

“Keith Fleming’s performance as Doppler is glorious in its energy and commitment.”

“this outdoor adaptation beautifully highlights the story’s central irony; that being one with nature is impossible, because humans always pull focus.”

PreviousNext

Support Us

If you’d like to support us to make live performances of Doppler happen when we’re able, or any of the other work that we’re doing, we would be extremely grateful.

Donate via Paypal

Video

View the trailer for Doppler here…

Cast

Keith Fleming

Sean Hay

Chloe-Ann Tylor

Nik Paget-Tomlinson

Production Team

Writer & Director:
Ben Harrison

Producer:
Judith Doherty

Finance & Development Manager:
Deborah Crewe

Dramaturg:
Eszter Marsalko

Composer:
David A. Pollock

Musician and Live Foley:
Nik Paget-Tomlinson

Set & Costume Designer:
Becky Minto

Puppet Designer:
Fergus Dunnet

Lighting Designer:
Elle Taylor

Production Manager
(2020 & Pre-rehearsal 2021):
Elle Taylor

Production Manager (2021):
Joe Connell

Technical Manager:
Roy Fairhead

Stage Manager:
Hannah Henderson

Deputy Stage Manager:
Katy Steele

Front of House Manager:
Kath Lowe

Support (Technical Support):
Ellie Agnew

Production Design Assistant:
Megan Adair

Social Media:
Rosie Bans / Delilah Rose Neil

Press & Marketing:
The Corner Shop Scotland

BSL:
Paul Belmonte & Rachel Amey

View Our Programme

To read more information about the show, including the Director’s Note and team biographies, have a look through our production programme.

Doppler Programmme
View Production Programme Download Audio Version

The Documentary

Doppler: The Story So Far is available free to watch now!
Running Time: 67 minutes  /  Age recommendation: 14+

We hope you enjoy it!

Supporters

This production is kindly supported by National Trust for Scotland at Newhailes House and Gardens and the first ever Fringe Artist and Venue Recovery Fund.

Creative Scotland - logo
National Trust for Scotland - logo
Fringe 2021 - logo

Dedication

This production is dedicated to the memory of our dear friend, Angela Wrapson, who made it possible for us to perform as part of Stavanger2008 European Capital of Culture and who looked after us so well on our Norwegian adventures.

Contact Us

If you want to know more about our work or just want to get in touch to say hi!
You can reach us by clicking here.