The Chronicles of Atom and Luna - Programmers Document

Funnelwick Limb in association with Action Transport Theatre and Eastern Angles presents

By MU R RAY L AC H L A N YO U N G

P R O G RA MM ERS ’ DOC UM E N T Initial tour Autumn / Christmas 2022

All illustrations by Bek Palmer. All photography Matthew Linley.

By MU R RAY L AC H L A N YO U N G

We are seeking expressions of interest and pencil dates for the live performances between: •

30 September - 24 October 2022

•

3 December - 31 December 2022

Booking details For booking please contact: Matthew Linley linleymatt@gmail.com 079897 48350

BACKGROUND The Chronicles of Atom & Luna is the second project from the team behind The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps.

We began work on the story of Atom & Luna in lockdown, and that’s influenced how we have started telling the story.

So far we have made six audio tales (Chronicle One: Tales from the Forest) & a Prix Europa Award Nominated AR (augmented reality) story game (Chronicle Two: Quest for Old Mother Redbeard). Find out more about these later in this document or at our website: funnelwicklimb.com Now we are developing the live performance which will become Chronicle Four - and we would love you to be one of our initial venues in Autumn/December 2022

Praise for The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps ‘‘A fearsome but funny, perfectly metrical gothic tale of dynasty, death, revenge and hope.

Fantastic word play, lots of gruesome.

Lovely moral.’’

Michael Rosen

“Fiendish verses and curses….

Hilda gives it 10 out of 10: ‘really hilarious.’”

The Guardian

‘‘Exuberant spoken word is brought to even greater life with charming, quirky performances.”

Everything Theatre

‘‘A gloriously gothic tale… a real theatrical treat.’’

Colchester Gazette

For booking and more information contact Matthew Linley: linleymatt@gmail.com 079897 48350

BASIC INFORMATION Suitable for

Show size

• Studio theatres

• 4 cast on stage

• Small to mid scale venues (sub 400)

• 1 touring stage manager

• Larger venues where the show is playing school matinees, and early weekend matinees, playing ‘on top’ of another set

• 4 hour get-in if pre-rig provided

• Non-theatrical spaces by negotiation

• Performance space 5m x 5m

Audiences • Family arts audiences (7+)

Duration • 70-80 mins straight through

• KS2 school groups (see notes about education pack below)

• A version with an interval may be possible

• Spoken word audiences

Fees

• Previous audiences for The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps, the works of Action Transport Theatre etc

• £900 for one performance • £1200 for two performances on the same day • Longer run / partnership fees by negotiation

For more details about the project see www.funnelwicklimb.com

MORE ABOUT THE SHOW What’s the story we see on stage?

Our story – which has been developed with the involvement of young people over lockdown – centres around heroes Atom and Luna, 11 year old twins, who have been left in the care of their curious visitor Iffly Sney. When Iffly falls terribly ill, only the twins can save him by seeking out the mysterious Old Mother Redbeard in the heart of a magical forest: a journey which will change their lives forever.

In the performance we follow this whole story as Atom & Luna attempt to save Iffly, but in the ‘story within a story’ Old Mother Redbead tells the children a fairy tale which reveals exactly who they are!

What are the key themes?

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• Nature – and a return to it’s wisdom

Our heroes Atom & Luna (left home alone by their mother) are saved from starvation by the arrival of their magical child minder, Iffly Sney.

• Family and resolution

• The agency of children

But Iffly falls terribly ill and only the twins can save him. They must seek out the mysterious Old Mother Redbeard.

And so begins Atom & Luna’s journey into the heart of the forest that will change their lives forever.

• Emotional and personal growth

How is the story told?

The show combines Action Transport’s well known blend of child-centred story telling - highly visual, highly physicial, theatre that includes a lot of music and of course poet Murray Lachlan Young’s rich child-friendly verse.

Whilst we are still developing the show - and will continue to do so through the summer of 2022 - we know the show will be highly physical, part devised featuring ensemble storytelling and a mix of visual language, dialogue and verse.

For booking and more information contact Matthew Linley: linleymatt@gmail.com 079897 48350

Will I get an opportunity to see any work in progress?

Yes. We are planning a final week of R&D in summer 2022 (our target date for this is w/c 27 June) and venue programmers and marketing staff will be welcome to attend.

We are also likely to do some form of zoom sharing or update around this week.

Who are the creative team?

Written by Murray Lachlan Young Directed by Nina Hajiyianni Designed by Bek Palmer Produced by Matthew Linley on behalf of Funnelwick Limb.

For more details about the project see www.funnelwicklimb.com

PERFORMANCE ADD-ONS What are the performance add-ons and how can we use them?

Schools’ Resources • We have a six session scheme of work which is available both online and in hard copy. Based around six videos from the creative team, it follows the process of developing the stories of Atom & Luna and encourages children to do the same creative exercises we went through in making the story. Designed for KS2, the scheme of work includes learning objectives and key links to the curriculum.

Our Atom & Luna project is a cross-media storytelling project, but it’s important to say right from the outset that the live performance is completely self-contained. It’s a complete experience in its own right.

Booking the show will give you access to a range of additional elements, all of which will help deepen audience engagement and enhance their enjoyment of the show.

We’ve summarised them below, along with thoughts about how you might use some of them.

• Zoom assemblies with Murray and a member of the Funnelwick Limb team to kick off the scheme of work are also available on request.

• In school workshops and bespoke activities can be facilitated by the team at extra cost

• Atom & Luna Scheme of Work for KS2 • Chronicle One: Tales from the Forest (six audio tales) • Chronicle Two: Quest for Old Mother Redbeard (AR story game)

Que st for bea rd Old Mo the r Redtale

• Chronicle Three: activity-based audio tales – to be released Spring 2022

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Murray Lachlan Young

with words from poet

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• Activity boxes

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• Story postcards and seed cards

STORY CARD 1 Hide this card at the start

Here are some suggestions for how you could enhance the visit of the show with these additional elements...

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L U N A’ S

Bum ble Bee Syr up happy Keep Lavender the bumble bee with Luna’s Bumble Bee syrup recipe! you.

Remember, ask an adult to help

Ingred ients

• Water • Sugar • Empty yoghurt pot • Tablespoon • Scissors, ruler and pencil

Instru ction s

• Clean your empty yoghurt pot A selection of storiesa maximum of 2cm

by Murray Lachlan Young • Make sure your yoghurt pot is written and performed cut it down to size) youthis help plant tall (ask an adultYoutocan special postcard (after yoghurt pot you have made our into your recipesand of sugar downloaded our stories) to grow you very own • Pour 2 tablespoon flowers. pot With thisyour card yoghurt you can grow lavender!

• Pour 1 tablespoon of water into

LISTEN. WATCH. PLAY.

Explore the world of Atom & Luna with free audio tales and our AR game

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For booking and more information contact Matthew Linley: linleymatt@gmail.com 079897 48350

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Tales from the Forest (six audio tales)

Quest for Old Mother Redbeard (AR)

Chronicle One of Atom & Luna features six audio tales telling the backstory to The Chronicles of Atom & Luna

Chronicle Two of Atom & Luna is an AR story game – Quest for Old Mother Redbeard. The story game is free to download from Google Play store and Apple’s App Store. You could use the game as part of the show’s web presence or you might send the links to ticket bookers when they book.

There are several ways you might utilise these: • We will provide post-show postcards to be placed on seats or handed out to all audience members with a link to the free audio tales. We will also provide email content to send in a post-show email.

• If you are arranging community days / open days (especially in an outdoor setting) the audio tales can be used with silent disco headphones to go on ‘story walks’.

This is particularly effective in woodland settings.

• In some venues – and in negotiation with you – we may use the audio tales pre-show, with audience members listening to one of the stories prior to being ‘found’ by a performer, who then guides them in to the auditorium.

Quest for Old Mother Redbeard was nominated for a prestigious Prix Europa Digital Media Award. The Prix Europa’s are a project of the EU to honour the best media productions across Europe.

For more details about the project see www.funnelwicklimb.com

About Funnelwick Limb

Funnelwick Limb exists to develop cross-platform storytelling work, primarily, but not exclusively, for family audiences.

We create thrilling and inventive live performance, VR experiences and games, audio content and old-school books.

We want to inspire and enable all young people to get lost in language, learn how to create their own stories using different mediums and develop a live performance habit. We want to nurture a new generation of cultural creators and consumers, equipped and hungry for words and the kinds of cultural experiences we can’t yet imagine, unhindered by the barriers to engagement that exist for many today. Funnelwick Limb evolved from the success of The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps, the team’s first creative project together, which launched in April 2019, initially as a book, which turned into an audio drama, which then turned into a game and VR experience, and finally emerged as a live show!

Lead Artist Murray Lachlan Young Creative Director Nina Hajiyianni Creative Producer Matthew Linley

www.funnelwicklimb.com

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