Tortoise in a Nutshell

19/05/2026

For one night only the return of multi-award winning Ragnarok, THIS SATURDAY at Capital Theatre Studio, Edinburgh.

A collision of ancient myth and modern spectacle, Ragnarok takes its inspiration from Norse mythology’s cyclical tale of the same name. It is a story about fate and determination, mortals and gods, the world’s end and its rebirth.

What is it to be one face in a million, walking through the end of your world?

A young girl and her brother battle forward, seeking a future in a promised land. Two souls in a sea of thousands, they move through a fractured world as dream and reality clash around them.

Ragnarok creates a bold, haunting and multisensory theatrical world, populated by scores of hand-crafted clay figures and an atmospheric immersive soundtrack. Multi-award-winning company Tortoise in a Nutshell create an enthralling new production that fuses forms to stunning effect, blending human performance, puppetry and hand-crafted live animation in their most ambitious production to date.

Ragnarok is an international co-production between Tortoise in a Nutshell and Figurteatret I Nordland (Nordland Visual Theatre) in association with MacRobert Arts Centre.

🎫🎟️🎟️🎟️🎟️

28/04/2026

RAGNAROK IS BACK FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY ⚡️

Our multi-award winning production Ragnarok arrives for a single, unmissable performance next month.

A collision of ancient myth and modern spectacle, Ragnarok takes its inspiration from Norse mythology’s cyclical tale of the same name. It is a story about fate and determination, mortals and gods, the world’s end and its rebirth.

📍 Capital Theatres Studio, Edinburgh
🗓 23 May
⏰ 7:30pm

🎟 General sale begins 6 May

24/03/2026

✨ New Internship Alert! ✨

We’re looking for a Design Intern to join us for the production period of two upcoming performances - the in-development design of new international co-production The Invisible City with Frankfurt based TheaterGrueneSosse and a remount of a previous production. This is a chance to step inside the making process of two professional theatre productions and develop your creative skills with support from our team.

For more information and details on how to apply visit: https://opportunities.creativescotland.com/opportunity/index/f9617e89-99f1-4d9b-a157-4562895f5d4b/?Ref=%2F

05/03/2026

On Tuesday we were able to spend the day sharing our new show IMPRINTS with the Knit and Natter group at North Edinburgh Arts and the wonderful residents at Eagle Lodge Care Home.

Imprints has been created to share with audiences who may not be able to attend their local theatres by bringing small scale visual theatre directly into their spaces.

We are heading down to Dumfries and Galloway next week so watch this space for more updates on the project!

03/03/2026

We are out with our new performance piece which is an intimate performance for 1-5 people at a time.

It is the story of a life all contained within a bespoke made writing desk. It’s portable and therefore accessible with an aim of reaching individuals and groups who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity for performance arts experiences.

It’s part of a wider research project on how to make the arts accessible and is on tour in Edinburgh and Dumfries & Galloway throughout March.

If you want to know more about the project or have a group who would benefit please get in touch.

Original story by Tortoise in a Nutshell
Design & Direction: Alex Bird &
Music composition and Sound Design:
Producing:
Research: Louise Honeybul

12/12/2025

We are absolutely delighted to announce our new Chair of Trustees is the wonderful Fiona Sturgeon Shea. 🤩

Fiona is a respected Scottish arts leader, bringing over thirty years of experience across producing theatres, venues, funding bodies, the public sector, and national sector development organisations. Fiona has led departments for: Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre twice - as Marketing Manager and Head of Communications; the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond; the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow; the Scottish Government/NHS Lothian; the Scottish Arts Council. She was Creative Director at Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland; and, most recently, CEO of the Federation of Scottish Theatre.

Fiona’s work is consistently driven by a passion for stories of all kinds, and a deep care for the artists who create them. Alongside a career-long commitment to audiences and communities, this foundation informs her broad expertise, which encompasses strategic management, communications, funding, artist and audience development, and high-level advocacy and policy.

Fiona comments, “I’m genuinely honoured to be elected Chair of Tortoise in a Nutshell. I have long admired their work, from early sharings at Manipulate to their evolution into one of the most inventive and diligent companies in the performing arts.

“I recently had the privilege of seeing Una Imagines at North Edinburgh Arts Centre. Sharing that experience with an audience of five-year-olds, I was struck by the beauty and intricacy of the work and the story’s emotional resonance. I look forward to working with Alex, Arran and the team—who are fully deserving of their recent Multi-Year Funding—and supporting them as they navigate a positive future as a leading visual theatre organisation.”

12/12/2025

It’s been a busy few weeks over at Tortoise. Including:

1. Christmas craft workshops
2. Christmas Day including our very own Puppetree
3. A fully booked Self producing workshop for emerging artists
4. An introduction to Visual Theatre workshops
5. Una Imagines performances and workshops and out exploring Caithness
6. A fully booked Visual Theatre workshop by Co-Directors Arran and Alex

We still have shows tomorrow 🤩 and then next week is all about preparing for 2026 before a full team well earned break 😮‍💨

Lots more exciting things coming before then though 💪

Thanks to everyone who has joined us over the past few weeks

10/12/2025

Thanks to our amazing communities intern .yennul who has been doing lots of great work with us over the past couple of months.

We are sorry to see you go 😭 but excited to see everything you get up to next.

We will have more internship opportunities available in 2026 👀

09/12/2025

We’ve had a great start to the week with the local schools coming along to meet Una ❄️

We also invited them to take part in a workshop to make their own Una puppets and they all did great!!

07/12/2025