Natalie Allison Productions along with Alex Reynolds a writer/performer will bring In the Land of Eagles to the Pleasance this August. The first performance is on Wednesday 30 July at 3.00pm.
The story centres on the relationship between a 66-year-old grandfather whose natural home is in Albania and his six-year-old granddaughter, Her, and “how far we will go to make amends for the mistakes of our past”.
They are worlds apart until he asks to go home – and the story is one of a journey to a place unknown.
Natalie Allison is an award nominated producer from Edinburgh working in theatre, dance and comedy with more than 40 critically acclaimed production credits, and 12 years of presenting work at the Fringe. Natalie’s work has been featured at Barbican, The Royal Opera House, V&A, Arts Theatre West End, Hackney Empire and Pleasance. She is a Stage One award recipient and recently a finalist at the National Outdoor Events award and the Scottish Event Awards for her work on Scotland’s 10 year anniversary of The Kelpies.
She explained to us that the story came from meeting Alex Reynolds at drama school in London and that they have been “creative collaborators” for more than a decade now. She said: “I knew that there was a special story that Alex had to tell. During the pandemic we had a big conversation about what that could possibly be and here we are five years later. We began by discussing where you start as a writer when a work of fiction seems overwhelming, and talked about starting with something you know or something that you’d like to know more about. With that she took the topic of her relationship with her grandfather and her Albanian heritage and went on an adventure to Albania to write this amazing work.
“She went to Albania and she met people that her grandfather knew and she went to sort of places that he would have visited. She really got a sense of Albania as a country that is often overlooked or deeply misunderstood in our stories in the UK. I hope that audiences will leave feeling like they know Albania a little better as well. For 70 minutes at Pleasance Courtyard we are going to take audiences on that adventure to Albania. Hopefully you will pick up the phone to that loved one that you’ve always wanted to go on an adventure with. We hope that will be the impact we leave on audiences.”
Alex Reynolds is based in London and has performed at the Almeida Theatre, Theatre503, Southwark Playhouse, Arcola and The Pleasance. With her Albanian heritage she has found an inspiration for her writing debut.
This is a solo show which Reynolds performs. Natalie explained: “We are going to get a really nice personal perspective on her relationship with her grandfather but bringing the story to life we have an extraordinary creative team including Martha Geelan who has worked on Olivier award winning shows. We’re very honoured to be giving Martha her Edinburgh debut.”
Nathalie began her career very young with productions in the back garden where she made everybody from the cup-de-sac perform, worked as a producer in the Fringe and then went on for formal training in London. But she said that the Fringe has been her training ground “because you have to be a jack of all trades and get out there to meet audiences on the ground and convene them to spend their hard-earned cash to come to your show. There is nothing more exciting than that.”
And her top tip for getting through a three week run at the Fringe is water. She said: “Water is the magic elixir that many people forget about because you’re so busy running around. I think if you can keep hydrated, maybe the lack of sleep won’t, maybe the occasional hangover won’t come on you too hard.”
- In the Land of Eagles
- by Alex Reynolds
- 15.00, 30 July – 25 August 2025 (70 min)
- Pleasance Courtyard, Baby Grand
- Tickets from £13
- Run time: 70 mins
- Tickets here.
