Man Who Planted Trees, The

Puppet State Theatre’s Company’s winning adaptation of Jean Giono’s classic story is prefaced with a conversation between the narrator and his deadpan Dog (the undisputed star of the show). The poor mutt feels disgruntled following a visit to the optician’s, only to discover that his eyes are in fact made of buttons.

The Dog has a cameo role in the play-within-a play that follows, in which our intrepid storyteller encounters a shepherd in the South of France, who plants a great forest while the First World War rages, only for the trees to be felled to make weapons when World War II breaks out.

The story itself, with its ecological message, plays second fiddle to the interactions between straight-man, Jean, and the wisecracking Dog, while, inevitably, the real stars of the show are the incredibly expressive puppets. (Allan Radcliffe)

Scottish Storytelling Centre, 556 9579, until 27 Aug (not 21), 1pm, £7.50 (£5).