Oliver Emanuel's A HISTORY OF PAPER at the Edinburgh Fringe

We are thrilled to see such a warm reception for production of the late Oliver Emanuel’s A HISTORY OF PAPER which currently on at the Traverse Theatre as part of the Edinburgh Fringe festival. The production started life as an original radio play back in 2017, but was adapted by Oliver into a stage play with the addition of music and lyrics by Gareth Williams.

A HISTORY OF PAPER is a musical love story which charts the progress of a relationship between a man and a woman through the little bits of paper left behind - every ticket, letter, menu, and shopping list. It’s an incredibly poignant and moving play, and a testament to the brilliance of Oliver who died tragically young at the end of last year.

The play has received a Fringe First Award, along with some excellent reviews. Joyce McMillan praised the production as a ‘rare and sparkling event’, giving it 5* in The Scotsman and drawing attention to ‘the quiet grace of Emanuel’s writing, with never a word wasted’, while Dominic Cavendish was similarly effusive in The Telegraph, calling the production ‘a little gem’ and a ‘a lush, lyrical, beautiful love-letter’. Mark Fisher of The Guardian was also impressed, describing the production as ‘poignant’ and ‘a lovely piece of work’ in his 4* review, and detailing how the production nimbly moves ‘from the airy charm of a pop song to the unsayable devastation of unexpected loss’.

The entire run of the play has already sold out, but you can keep your eyes peeled for returns here.