The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps Marketing and Information Pack by Matthew Linley

MARKETING AND INFORMATION PACK Issue 5 – March 2020

Contents An introduction to the project .......................................................................................................................................... 4 Current Touring Periods .................................................................................................................................................... 4 The production credits ...................................................................................................................................................... 4 Key Assets in the drop box folder ..................................................................................................................................... 5 Copy (for the live show) .................................................................................................................................................... 5 Reviews and Previews ....................................................................................................................................................... 7 Online assets ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8 The immersive experience ................................................................................................................................................ 9 The story begins…. ............................................................................................................................................................ 9 Box Office Briefing Sheet ................................................................................................................................................ 10 Audience Information Sheet ........................................................................................................................................... 12 Visual Story ................................................................................................................................................................. 14 Technical Specification ................................................................................................................................................ 18 Sample Press Release .................................................................................................................................................. 21 The creative team biographies (alphabetical order) ...................................................................................................... 23

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT MATTHEW LINLEY ON 07989748350 | linleymatt@gmail.com

Matthew Linley Creative Projects in association with Action Transport Theatre and Eastern Angles presents Murray Lachlan Youngâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps Marketing and Information Pack p3

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT MATTHEW LINLEY ON 07989748350 | linleymatt@gmail.com

An introduction to the project The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps exists -

As the live performance As a book, published by Scotland Street Press (details here1) As an album (which is currently available on soundcloud here) As a VR and immersive web experience (details of which are on p9– we hope that we will be able to make this available for your audiences!) And in our audiences and readers imaginations!

The impact and reach of the various forms of the project are being investigated and evaluated by a team at the University of Essex.

Current Touring Periods October 15th- November 1st Christmas 2020 by negotiation February 11th- 21st

The production credits Written by Murray Lachlan Young Performed by Murray Lachlan Young and Joe Allen or Simone Lewis Directed by Nina Hajiyianni Music by Arun Ghosh Designed by Bek Palmer Movement by Laura Williamson Biggs VR and animation by MBD LTD Associate direction by Scott Hurran Produced by Matthew Linley Creative Mentor – Dr Liam Jarvis (University of Essex) Impact research – Dr Loes Van Dam and Prof Paul Hibbard (University of Essex)

Presented in association with Action Transport Theatre and Eastern Angles with the financial support of Arts Council England, Essex County Council and the University of Essex. All relevant logos are available in the drop box folder (see folder marked logos) Biographies for all the creative team can be found at the end of this document.

https://scotlandstreetpress.com/product/mystery-of-the-raddlesham-mumps/ FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT MATTHEW LINLEY ON 07989748350 | linleymatt@gmail.com

Key Assets in the drop box folder The marketing dropbox - https://www.dropbox.com/sh/tlh2eo16sptmddx/AADJ1gNCU4PtEuwxdracvTvCa?dl=0

Copy (for the live show) If the Brothers Grimm and Doctor Seuss met Harry Potter…. Celebrated poet and broadcaster MURRAY LACHLAN YOUNG (Radio 4, Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music poet in residence,) stars in this thrilling new family performance perfect for audiences young and old! When 7-year-old Crispin his ancestral home – Raddlesham Mumps he finds himself in a haunted house with only a creepy butler for company. And when that butler, Kenilworth, begins to tell him about the bizarre and hilarious deaths of his deeply eccentric ancestors the story takes flight on darkly comic wings. The acclaimed Raddlesham Mumps mixes compelling story telling with a brilliant musical score (by Arun Ghosh), oodles of theatricality and a touch of exquisite silliness. A ‘theatrical treat’ that’s perfect for lovers of Harry Potter, Tim Burton, Lemony Snicket and The Brothers Grimm! Suitable for 7+

“10/10” The Guardian “deliciously devilish” The Stage “Exuberant spoken word brought to even greater life with charming exuberant performances” Everything Theatre “Fearsome and Funny”— Michael Rosen "Side-splittingly hilarious" — Howard Blake (The Snowman) “Murray Lachlan Young’s latest masterpiece” Matt Everitt, BBC 6 Music "Beautifully staged…. utterly brilliant …. fiercely clever" — Marcus Brigstocke "Magical ****1/2" — Norwich Eye "An utter delight for audiences young and old" — Neil D’Arcy Jones / Colchester Gazette

‘A fearsome but funny, perfectly metrical gothic tale of dynasty, death, revenge and hope. Fantastic word play, lots of gruesome. Lovely moral’ -Michael Rosen ‘It was incredible…8 year old mesmerised, parents also mesmerised. LOVED IT. Go’ - Jo Fletcher Cross ‘Just seen the beautifully staged Raddlesham Mumps at Wiltons Music Hall with Joe Allen being utterly brilliant and the fiercely clever Murray Lachlan Young delivering in fine style’-Marcus Brigstocke Murray Lachlan Young side-splittingly stirs to life the long-forgotten art of Grand Guignol recitation, hovering insanely somewhere between Lord Alfred Tennyson and Spike Milligan. Hilarious! – FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT MATTHEW LINLEY ON 07989748350 | linleymatt@gmail.com

Matthew Linley Creative Projects in association with Action Transport Theatre and Eastern Angles presents Murray Lachlan Young’s The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps Marketing and Information Pack p6 Howard Blake (The Snowman etc) ‘‘THIS! THIS! See this! Young, old and everyone before, after and in between – Murray Lachlan Young’s latest masterpiece (and he’s had a few) - Matt Everitt (BBC 6 Music) ‘Murray Lachlan Young is one of our greatest children’s writers as far as I can see’ – Barbara Pierson, Artistic Director, Lakeside Theatre ‘This absolute gem’ Kate Labno ‘Pure genius – utterly exhillerating from start to finish. Smiled from ear to ear in wonder and awe of its and your brilliance. It should be on the curriculum. A must see for all’ -Victoria Grant ‘Hilarious and gripping storytelling’ -Ginni Manning ‘Fabulous show!’ - Jordi M Asher What a night! Congratulations team Raddlesham Mumps – you sure know how to entertain an audience of all ages. – Aldeburgh Jubilee Hall ‘Great script/poem, very comedic, very gothic, an all round great tale!’ Finn T On Murray’s previous childrens’ work – Modern Cautionary Tales for Children ‘The big bad boy of performance poetry turns out to the greatest children’s performer in the world’ -Kate Copstic The Scotsman On Murray Lachlan Young ‘I urge you to adorn yourselves with him’ -Fi Glover BBC Radio 4 ‘Simply brilliant, hysterically funny and strangely moving.’ -Claudia Winkleman ‘His exquisite wordsmithery, his sublime observations and the joyous smile of recognition that stretches across my heart each time I read or hear his laser musings!’ – Rhys Ifans

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT MATTHEW LINLEY ON 07989748350 | linleymatt@gmail.com

Reviews and Previews On The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps The Guardian The Stage Everything Theatre Colchester Gazette Norwich Eye Previews A gothic journey into the mind of Murray Lachlan Young (Colchester Gazette) Butley Priory inspires gothic family drama (East Anglian Daily Times) Suffolk Life magazine BBC 6 Music News on The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps Sample local media interview – BBC Radio Suffolk (Murray did 6 of these) Murray on Talk Radio

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT MATTHEW LINLEY ON 07989748350 | linleymatt@gmail.com

About Murray Lachlan Young Murray Lachlan Young is an award winning, multi disciplinary writer spanning the worlds of: poetry, theatre, film, music, lyrics and as much live performance as time will allow. He appears regularly on Radio 4, Radio 2 and is resident poet on BBC 6 Music. His recent collection How freakin' Zeitgeist are you was a number one best seller in the Amazon UK book charts. In 2019 Murray will release two new studio albums, the first being The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps. Murray has also written for Shakespeare’s Globe, The CERN institute in Switzerland and MTV USA. 2015 saw Murray’s co adaptation of the critically acclaimed Dylan Thomas’ Under Milkwood movie directed by Kevin Allen and starring Rhys Ifans, listed for the Best Foreign language Oscar. Some words from Murray about the show ‘As a child I was fortunate enough to be told stories by both my mother and father. My father’s stories were sweeping and epic, my mother’s were closer and full of detail. I was also read quite a lot of verse by my mother: Hilaire Belloc, Doctor Heinrich Hoffmann, Edward Lear and many others. At the same time I was listening to my parents’ entire record collection. Everything from: The Beatles’ White Album to Johnny Cash, early Bob Dylan and onto Gilbert and Sullivan and the brilliant 1941 recording of Peter and the Wolf, scored by Prokofiev with narration by Basil Rathbone. The thing that brought all these disparate influences together was that they were stories, told by tellers with unique voices. I was utterly fascinated by it all and wanted to be one of those people. So, here we are at the gates of The Raddlesham Mumps. I only hope this work, made with the help of a brilliant creative team, helps to continue in the tradition of all the voices – lyrical and musical – that went before, and hopefully inspires a few more, young or old, to join in this ancient and modern tradition.’

Online assets There are lots of online videos featuring Murray as a performer. Here are some of our favourites:https://vimeo.com/313392571 - Farting Martin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQerZSWZ4hw Annie McClue – a poem for families, filmed by The Queen https://vimeo.com/244040860 Lycra Dad, in a film by Gray Hughes And on a more serious note here is his poem for Between the Storeys THE COMMUNITY OF SOULS https://youtu.be/Hj94LbdaO6Q, filmed by Charlotte Ginsborg The project web site https://raddleshammumps.co.uk/ Murray Lachlan Young’s main web page is http://www.murraylachlanyoung.co.uk/ FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT MATTHEW LINLEY ON 07989748350 | linleymatt@gmail.com

The immersive experience

The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps is being told across four mediums – a book, an album, the play (which is visiting your venue) and a unique immersive prequel experience built for OCULUS GO headsets and ANDROID tablets and mobile phones. Both are available to download for free from the Oculus Go App and the Google Play store.

The story begins…. We’d love audiences to play the prequel before they come to see the show. To that end we'd invite you to -

Include the download links on your web site Send the download links with ticket confirmations

Then at the venue itself you can have the option of demonstrating the tablet version of the prequel and the VR version on the day of the performance.

Try it yourself All you need is an android device (tablet or mobile phone). Head to the Google Play store and search for Raddlesham Mumps and download! If you have a pair of Oculus Go glasses head to the Oculus Go app and search for Raddlesham Mumps and download.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT MATTHEW LINLEY ON 07989748350 | linleymatt@gmail.com

Box Office Briefing Sheet What is it A gothic tale for lovers of Harry Potter, Tim Burton, Lemony Snicket and The Brothers Grimm A modern cautionary tale (think Roald Dahl, Shockheaded Peter et al)! Written in iambic pentameter and rhyming couplets throughout it tells the story of what happens to Crispin – our 7 year old hero – when he inherits the Raddlesham Mumps (a crumbling old house in the country) on the death of his parents. The story is told verbally and visually and is supported by a brilliant soundtrack by Arun Ghosh Is it funny? Yes - Murray and Joe are both brilliant and hilarious performers for children and adults alike - but it’s also slightly scary – and definitely funny scary! Is it suitable for my child/family? The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps exists in a fantasy world much like our own (think JRR Tolkein, JK Rowling, Neil Gaiman and so on). We are making the show for family audiences, recommending the show for 7+ (although many 5 and 6 year olds will enjoy it too with parental guidance – see below!). Tolkein once said ‘there is no such thing as writing for children’ and its very much in that spirit that we are making this show! Is it suitable for adults Yes! Lots of adults have enjoyed the show immensely, theres lots of humour in there especially for older audiences! Audiences who enjoy gothic or fantasy stories or who like nonsense poetry, cautionary tales or satirical poetry or who just like a great yarn brilliantly told will all enjoy TheMystery of the Raddlesham Mumps IS IT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 7 Whilst the show isn’t designed for very young children we know that 5 or 6 years old have enjoyed the performance. They may find some of the language and the story a little more difficult to follow but they will enjoy the physical storytelling, the clowning and the sillier moments. Due to its gothic nature (the show includes 9 gruesomely funny deaths) the show isn’t suitable for nervous children or children who are easily scared. The show is not designed and is not suitable for children under 5. What does the show involve? -

Spoken word, oodles of rhyming, rhythmical poetry! Physical Theatre and a healthy dose of silliness A great soundtrack from Arun Ghosh FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT MATTHEW LINLEY ON 07989748350 | linleymatt@gmail.com

How long is it? Approximately 50 minutes. Post show discussions available on request Any audience warnings There is NO swearing or nudity! Selling Points ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪

Entertains and resonates with children and adults It’s a gothic adventure story It’s truly epic – with deaths, a young hero, a 100 year old butler, witches, fairies and ghosts It’s written and performed by Murray Lachlan Young , the BBC6 Music Poet in Residence It’s accessible, playful and fun. The show uses an immediate style of theatre and storytelling It’s high quality work – Murray is one of this country’s leading poets and broadcasters and on this project he is working with a top notch creative team

Audience ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪

Families Children and young people aged 7+ (see note about 5 and 6 year olds) Adults who have an interest in fantasy writing, story telling, poetry and spoken word Fans of JRR Tolkein, Harry Potter, His Dark Materials and Lemony Snicket Fans of Murray Lachlan Young’s work

Suggested Press Angles

Possible press angles and options include -

Press and media interviews with Murray Opportunities for journalists to ‘play’ the VR version of The Raddlesham Mumps, the result of a unique partnership with Essex University through the EIRA project. In fact The Raddlesham Mumps VR will be one of the first outputs of the EIRA programme.

Murray is an artist whose work resonates with adults and children – what makes an artist probably more known for his work on 6 Music, Everybodies taking cocaine or even A dogging I will go the perfect writer for children? Why the project is being made across four forms – a book, an album, a VR experience and a live show

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT MATTHEW LINLEY ON 07989748350 | linleymatt@gmail.com

Audience Information Sheet (please note – contains spoilers!) What is it A gothic tale for lovers of Harry Potter, Tim Burton, Lemony Snicket and The Brothers Grimm A modern cautionary tale (think Roald Dahl, Shockheaded Peter et al)! Written in iambic pentameter and rhyming couplets throughout it tells the story of what happens to Crispin – our 7 year old hero – when he inherits the Raddlesham Mumps (a crumbling old house in the country) on the death of his parents. The story is told verbally and visually and is supported by a brilliant soundtrack by Arun Ghosh Is it funny? Yes - Murray and Joe are both hilarious performers for children and adults alike - but it’s also slightly scary – and definitely funny scary! Is it suitable for my child/family? The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps exists in a fantasy world much like our own (think JRR Tolkein, JK Rowling, Neil Gaiman and so on). We are making the show for family audiences, recommending the show for 7+ (although many 5 and 6 year olds will enjoy it too with parental guidance – see below!). Tolkein once said ‘there is no such thing as writing for children’ and its very much in that spirit that we are making this show! Is it suitable for adults Yes! Lots of adults have enjoyed the show immensely, theres lots of humour in there especially for older audiences! Audiences who enjoy gothic or fantasy stories or who like nonsense poetry, cautionary tales or satirical poetry or who just like a great yarn brilliantly told will all enjoy The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps Is it suitable for children under the age of 7 Whilst the show isn’t designed for very young children we know that 5 or 6 years old have enjoyed the performance. They may find some of the language and the story a little more difficult to follow but they will enjoy the physical storytelling, the clowning and the sillier moments. Due to its gothic nature (the show includes 9 gruesomely funny deaths) the show isn’t suitable for nervous children or children who are easily scared. The show is not designed and is not suitable for children under 5. More about those gruesome deaths! The two performers act out the deaths in a light hearted, exaggerated way. •

Ocken dies after a boxing match where he drinks too much FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT MATTHEW LINLEY ON 07989748350 | linleymatt@gmail.com

• • • • • • •

Matthew Linley Creative Projects in association with Action Transport Theatre and Eastern Angles presents Murray Lachlan Young’s The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps Marketing and Information Pack p13 Fossil is a womaniser who dies when an anvil falls on his head Enid – a kind of witch – disappears into the hole in the hill Palsy a traveller with a fabulous moustache hangs himself Cordon dies in an accident involving a crab apple flan and a fan Ifley trips on his hair onto the top of an elephants tusk Noggin is presumably eaten by his pet tiger Hoggard is killed by a harpoon whilst saving the whales

And then later •

Kennilworth is killed when a huge stone falls upon his head and squashes him flat

What does the show involve? -

Spoken word, oodles of rhyming, rhythmical poetry! Physical Theatre and a healthy dose of silliness A great soundtrack from Arun Ghosh Nine gruesome, gory and funny deaths! A final scene involving ghosts, witches, fairies and a caravanette!

How long is it? Approximately 60 mins Any audience warnings There is NO swearing or nudity!

Enjoy the show! Murray, Joe, Thomas, Nina, Julie, Bek, Arun, Scott, Matthew and all the Raddlesham Mumps team.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT MATTHEW LINLEY ON 07989748350 | linleymatt@gmail.com

Visual Story

(warning – contains spoilers!)

When you arrive at the theatre you will be able to play The Raddlesham Mumps prequel. Think of the prequel as the bit before the story begins! It’s fun to do – but you don’t have to!!

You can play this on the tablets in the foyer – or if you are 13+, or have your parent’s/guardian’s permission,you can play it using a VR head-set.

Here’s a picture of two people playing the prequel using VR head-sets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT MATTHEW LINLEY ON 07989748350 | linleymatt@gmail.com

SOME INFORMATION ABOUT THE SHOW – BEFORE YOU GO IN

The story of The Raddlesham Mumps is very funny – so please do feel free to laugh! It’s also a little bit scary – but not too scary! We do use music in the show but there are no loud bangs. We do use lights in the show but there are no flashing lights. You can leave the auditorium at any point in the story if you need to. The show is 55 minutes long and there is no interval.

At the beginning, when everything is ready you will go into the theatre or the performance space.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT MATTHEW LINLEY ON 07989748350 | linleymatt@gmail.com

The performance area looks a bit like a ruin of a great building. It’s littered with bits of the old building (arches and stones) and lots and lots of unusual things. There’s a broken bed , a stuffed bear and an easel!

We meet our first character…. This is Joe He looks a bit like a tramp And is very funny He doesn’t say much But he wants to say lots He’s good at doing some very strange and weird things….

Then we meet our second character…. This is Murray He looks a bit like a tramp too, only he’s a sort of posh tramp He speaks a lot And won’t let Joe get a word in He’s a bit bossy But he is funny and silly too He talks in a very rhythmical way which is a bit like music and there are lots of fun rhymes!

Murray and Joe seem to live in the ruin, and together they tell us the story of The Raddlesham Mumps…… The story is in three parts. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT MATTHEW LINLEY ON 07989748350 | linleymatt@gmail.com

In part one we learn about Crispin, a 7-year-old boy, and about Kenilworth a 100-year-old butler. They live in a huge old house called the Raddlesham Mumps. It’s the day of the funeral of Crispin’s mum and dad …..

In part two we learn about the mysterious deaths of Crispin’s ancestors (his mum and dad, his grand dad, his great grand dad, his great great aunt and so on). The deaths are all acted out by Murray and Joe.

In part three we learn that Kenilworth the butler thinks that the Raddlesham Mumps house belongs to him – and not to Crispin. A great battle follows – which of course Murray and Joe act out using whatever they find . There are ghosts, fairies, witches and even a witch’s cat! At the end something happens to the house…….and to the butler…….and Crispin goes away! We’d be spoiling the story if we told you where!!

At the end, the lights go down and Murray and Joe come back on stage to take a bow! AFTER THE SHOW - Do take a moment to say ‘hello’ to Murray and Joe/Simone in the foyer, and tell them what you thought! - Do play the Raddlesham Mumps prequel game - Do fill out one of our simple feedback forms www.raddleshammumps.co.uk

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT MATTHEW LINLEY ON 07989748350 | linleymatt@gmail.com

Technical Specification These technical specifications are subject to change. For the latest information please contact Matthew Linley on 07989748350. E mail linleymatt@gmail.com

Performance Space The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps is performed by 2 performers in a space 6m width, by 4.5m depth. The set consists of series of items suggesting we are in the ruin of a stately home. They are all floor standing. Nothing is suspended from the rig. Currently there is no floor, although this may change. We lay direct onto your performance floor, which is then dressed with feathers and rubber bark. All set is treated with flame retardant. On stage technical equipment Within the set are the following items of technical equipment: - A slide projector - 13amp power DSC - Three birdies concealed within a set piece (1 channel) - 15amp power required DSL - Hazer - 13amp power and 5 pin DMX required USC All electrical equipment is PAT tested. Touring technical equipment The production tours - 1 x Apple Mac (to run sound cues) - 1 x Sennheiser Radio Mic (and associated license), battery pack, receiver and lavalier microphone) Get In The production tours in a long wheeled transit van. Depending on the load in it takes around 40 minutes for all set and equipment to be brought to stage (and a similar time to pack FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT MATTHEW LINLEY ON 07989748350 | linleymatt@gmail.com

down). Get in, set up and focus/plot will take approximately 4 hours if a pre rig is possible, 6 hours if not. Sound and Lighting Sound The show uses a specially composed soundtrack by Arun Ghosh. Cues are triggered through CueLab on the Apple Mac laptop that we bring (stereo output via a toured sound card). Murray’s radio mic provides a third input (xlr) We will patch into your house system. Onstage monitors may be required – tbc. Our SM operates sound. We may ask for a technician to operate lx, cue’d by the SM..tbc. Lighting A touring plan is now available and will be sent in advance to all venues. Pre rigging essential...please contact us if a pre rig is not possible where we may operate a simplified version of the light plot. The LX rig consists of 22 channels plus houselights :156 Front wash (3 fresnels) 156 Back wash (3 fresnels) 156 cs special (1 fresnel) 728 Front wash (2 fresnels – 1 channel) 017 Front wash (2 fresnels) 085 back wash (2 fresnels) 106 back wash (2 fresnels) 017 Front special (1 profile) 728 top special (1 profile or fresnel) 156 set specials (3 profiles) 127 gobos (small dot breakup B Size) (2 profiles) 122 Special (birdies built into set DSL - 15amp required, 1 channel) Houselights Hazer (toured - 2 channels) Colour and birdies are toured - if in house colour is available we will use this to save time on the get-out. Due to not touring a lighting desk a cue sheet will be provided during our get in with a breakdown of cues which will need to be programmed prior to our performance. We will be touring an etc ion showfile. We will either adjust to the standard rigs of the venues or send ahead with a venue specific plan if required. We tour with colour, hazer, B size gobos and birdies. A simple light plot is available where the full plan is not feasible. Parking We need 1 parking space for a LWB transit van and 1 car. Performance Team The core performance team is:- Murray Lachlan Young (performer) - Joe Allen (performer) - Thomas Vowles (stage manager)

Technical Support We ask for 1 venue technician to assist throughout our visit. If a pre rig is not possible, or if 2 in-house technicians are required for rigging, focus etc we ask for 2 venue technicians throughout the get in. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT MATTHEW LINLEY ON 07989748350 | linleymatt@gmail.com

Rider Dressing room facilities for 3 people Artist hospitality as per the venue custom Merchandise We will be selling books, CDs and other merchandise before and after the performance. We will work within your usual / contractual merchandising agreements Front of house The production tours with its own prequel available for audiences to download from either the Google Play Store or the Oculus Go store. On the day of the performance we will bring freestanding columns (effectively tablet stands) which allow audiences to ‘play’ the prequel ahead of the show. Where practical we will also bring Oculus Go glasses for audiences to experience the VR version. We ask box office teams to include the link to the prequel download in confirmation/welcome e mails. Running Time The show running time is approx. 1hr. For further information contact Matthew Linley (producer) on 079897 48350 linleymatt@gmail.com

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT MATTHEW LINLEY ON 07989748350 | linleymatt@gmail.com

Sample Press Release A Matthew Linley Creative Projects production

A Matthew Linley Creative Projects production In association with Action Transport Theatre and Eastern Angles

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps Written & performed by Murray Lachlan Young Music by Arun Ghosh Directed by Nina Hajiyianni For release 5th August MEDIA RELEASE Following a hugely successful Spring tour of his hilariously funny family show The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps, celebrated poet and broadcaster Murray Lachlan Young has announced ….. The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps is a theatrical treat perfect for lovers of Harry Potter, Lemony Snicket The Brothers Grimm and all things gothic. Taking the form of a funny and wildly entertaining epicpoem, Lachlan Young uses music, inventive costume, quirky staging and the brilliant physicality and stage FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT MATTHEW LINLEY ON 07989748350 | linleymatt@gmail.com

Matthew Linley Creative Projects in association with Action Transport Theatre and Eastern Angles presents Murray Lachlan Young’s The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps Marketing and Information Pack p22 presence of fellow performer Joe Allen/Simone Lewis to tell the spellbinding story of the show’s young hero, Crispin de Quincy de Faversham Clumps. Like many great characters of children’s fiction, Crispin is an orphan. At a windswept double funeral of both his parents he finds himself the sole inheritor of his magnificent ancestral home The Raddlesham Mumps. Left alone in the huge house, with only Kenilworth the ancient butler for company, events take an amusingly dark turn. The butler begins to regale Crispin with tales of the bizarre and often hilarious deaths of his deeply eccentric ancestors, and the story takes flight on darkly comic wings. The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps went down a storm with audiences young and old and received critical acclaim when it toured earlier this year. Mixing compelling storytelling with a brilliant musical score, by award-winning Arun Ghosh, the show has oodles of theatricality and sheds load of silliness. The children’s writer and broadcaster Michael Rosen described the WORK as “a fearsome but funny gothic tale of dynasty, death, revenge and hope…fantastic word-play, lovely moral.” Whilst comedian Marcus Brigstocke said; “Just seen the beautifully staged Raddlesham Mumps with Joe Allen being utterly brilliant and the fiercely clever Murray Lachlan Young delivering in fine style.’’ The live show, which is directed by Nina Hajiyianni with set and costume design by Bek Palmer, is an adaptation of Murray’s book of the same name, which tells the cautionary tale in cleverly rhyming couplets and iambic pentameter. A CD of The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps has also been released and a unique Virtual Reality prequel to the story has also been created and will be available for audiences to experience via headsets in theatre foyers as part of this Autumn’s tour. NOTES TO EDITORS: (A full suite of production shots are available here – all photo credit © Mike Kwasniak) The VR prequel can be downloaded from the Oculus Go score and the tablet/phone version will work on any android device, downloadable from Google here. The creative team Written by Murray Lachlan Young , Performed by Murray Lachlan Young and Joe Allen/Simone Lewis, Directed by Nina Hajiyianni, Music by Arun Ghosh , Designed by Bek Palmer , Movement by Laura Williamson Biggs VR and animation by MBD LTD .Associate direction by Scott Hurran Produced by Matthew Linley of Matthew Linley Creative Projects Presented in association with Action Transport Theatre and Eastern Angles and with the financial support of Arts Council England, University of Essex and Essex County Council.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT MATTHEW LINLEY ON 07989748350 | linleymatt@gmail.com

The creative team biographies (alphabetical order) Joe Allen (performer) Theatre credits include: Ensemble/U/S Mr Mushnik in Little Shop Of Horrors (Regents Park Open Air), Stephano in The Rover (RSC Stratford), Jimmy in The Seven Acts of Mercy (RSC Stratford), Mars in The 2 Noble Kinsmen (RSC Stratford), Mr Gloop/Oompa Loompa/U/S Augustus in Charlie & The Chocolate Factory (World Premiere Theatre Royal, Drury Lane), Wishee Washee in Aladdin (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford), Oompa Loompa in Charlie & The Chocolate Factory (Workshop), Charlie in Santa Claus & The Christmas Adventure (Ambassadors Theatre, West End), Will in Stop Dreamin’ - The Chas and Dave Musical (Theatre Royal, Windsor), Little John in Robin Hood (Theatre Royal, Norwich), The Caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland (The Castle, Wellingborough), Sparky in Forever Plaid (Upstairs at the Gatehouse and International Tour). Film credits include: Greek Fisherman in Mamma Mia: Here I Go Again, Pete in Blood Means Nothing. Commercials include: The Funny One in Girl With The Perfect Smile – Macleans; Pizza Boy in Rugby World Cup, Pukey for Talk to Frank, Morrisons. Cast recordings include Mamma Mia: Here I Go Again (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Simone Lewis (performer) Simone is a Gaulier-trained performer originally from South Africa. As a freelance performer and theatremaker, she tours her own solo shows while working with a number of theatre companies and organisations across the UK and Europe. She focuses specifically on collaborative ensemble theatre, puppetry, mask and clown with an emphasis on non-verbal storytelling. Some of the companies Simone has worked for include Tell Tale Hearts (LBT Huddersfield), Libellule Theatre (Halifax), Sheffield Theatres (Sheffield), CAST (Doncaster), M6 Theatre (Rochdale), Red Ladder (Leeds), Slung Low (Leeds), Assitej (South Africa), Vamos Theatre (Worcester), Theatre Company Blah Blah Blah (Leeds) and Action Transport (Ellesmere Port). Alongside clown, mask and puppetry, Simone also works with mixed media including video projection, stop motion animation and shadow puppetry and facilitates workshops for all ages on clown, mask, puppetry and devising theatre.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT MATTHEW LINLEY ON 07989748350 | linleymatt@gmail.com

Matthew Linley Creative Projects in association with Action Transport Theatre and Eastern Angles presents Murray Lachlan Young’s The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps Marketing and Information Pack p24 Arun Ghosh (composer) Arun is a British-Asian clarinettist and multi-instrumentalist, composer and music educator. Awarded ‘Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year’ at the 2018 and 2014. Parliamentary Jazz Awards, he is a renowned innovator of the modern IndoJazz style. Well regarded as a theatre composer, he has contributed scores and sound design to over one hundred productions (including works for Manchester Royal Exchange, The Globe, NYT, Library Theatre, Cardboard Citizens, Bolton Octagon, Belgrade Theatre, Salisbury Playhouse, Unicorn, Stratford Theatre Royal, Polka, Tamasha and Watford Palace) since his debut in 2002; Storm by Lemn Sissay at Contact, Manchester. Arun leads his own band, touring nationally and internationally. In association with British Council, he has run international music residencies in Morocco, Kuwait, UAE, Ukraine, Kenya and China. arunghosh.bandcamp.com *** Nina Hajiyianni (Director) Nina is one of the UK's leading theatre directors for families and young people, and is Artistic Director of Action Transport Theatre based in Ellesmere Port. The project’s Creative Producer, Matthew Linley, has a long association with Nina. Together they grew and developed the Unity Theatre/ATT Christmas show. In December 2017 the acclaimed 2016 Christmas show Little Red and the Big Bad Wolf was revived as the Christmas show for Z Arts in Manchester and The Brewery in Kendal, before going on a spring tour. Nina's other work for ATT includes Adrift, StatiK and the ground breaking Happily Ever After – a primary school age show in which two princes fall in love and marry. Nina is former chair of TYAUK (20112017) and Executive Member of ASSITEJ International (2011-2017). Scott Hurran (Associate Director) Scott trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama, and RADA. He is currently Artistic Associate at Eastern Angles (who are supporting his work on this project), and Associate Artist at the Mercury Theatre. Directing credits include Macbeth by Shakespeare, Brainstorm by Company Three, Our Town by Thornton Wilder (Farrar Theatre), Hidden by Nicola Werenowska (UK Tour), Counting Starts by Atiha Sen Gupta (Assembly, Edinburgh Fringe), shortlisted for the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award, The House of Bernard Alba (Kings Head Theatre), Three to Four Days (Theatre 503), Immigrant (Theatre Uncut, Young Vic) and The Grandfathers (National Theatre Connections, Theatre Chipping Norton and Oxford Playhouse). FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT MATTHEW LINLEY ON 07989748350 | linleymatt@gmail.com

Matthew Linley Creative Projects in association with Action Transport Theatre and Eastern Angles presents Murray Lachlan Young’s The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps Marketing and Information Pack p25 Matthew Linley (Creative Producer) Matthew Linley is a freelance producer and theatre maker. Until December 2017 he was Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Unity Theatre, Liverpool, leaving to pursue freelance projects in 2018. Recent work includes the UK tour of Nina – a story about me and Nina Simone (Unity Theatre/Riksteatern), Horny Handed Tons of Soil (Phrased & Confused/ Unity Theatre), Into the Cuckoo’s Nest (Martin Green/Lepus Productions) and When Did You Stop Dancing (What A Little Bird Told Me Theatre). Projects in development include The Ballad of Maria Marten (with Eastern Angles) and The Stitch Brothers Patchwork Wonders (with Arun Ghosh, Fabric Lenny and Jason Singh). Matthew is Administrative Director at New Wolsey Theatre and p/t visiting lecturer at East 15.

*** Bek Palmer (Designer) Bek trained in Performance Design at LIPA and studied Post Graduate Theatre Design at RWCMD. Other set and costume designs include; My Mother Said I Never Should, The Birthday Party, Waiting for Godot and Betrayal (London Classic Theatre). A Christmas Carol, Henry II, Matilda the Empress (Reading Between the Lines), The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart (Eastern Angles), Spirits of the Sea, Bear & Butterfly, Tiny Treasures, Luna, The Elves and the Shoemakers, Angel, The Night Pirates and My Mother Told Me Not To Stare (Theatre Hullabaloo), Alfie White: Space Explorer and Lemony Snicket’s Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming (Tall Stories), What The Ladybird Heard (Kenny Wax Ltd), Shaun The Sheep (Dan Coleman), Happily Ever After (Action Transport Theatre), 5 More Minutes (Travelled Companions). Bek specialises in designing/making puppets and has also worked as Installation Artist for Punchdrunk. She regularly works as Wardrobe Mistress for Qdos Pantomimes and Grange Park Opera. ***

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT MATTHEW LINLEY ON 07989748350 | linleymatt@gmail.com

Matthew Linley Creative Projects in association with Action Transport Theatre and Eastern Angles presents Murray Lachlan Young’s The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps Marketing and Information Pack p26 Laura Williamson Biggs (Movement) Laura is a professional performer with over ten years’ experience of choreographing, devising and performing for contemporary art companies. Laura has worked with Ben Wishaw, Aneil Karia, Nerina Pallot, Deptford Goth, Wave Machines (winner of 2011 MVA for choreography) Stuart Bentley, Secret Cinema, Future Shorts, Sony, Geffen Record, 59 Productions, The Mostly Everything People, UNIT Dance Company and Murray Lachlan Young amongst others.

*** Scotland Street Press (publishers) Scotland Street Press was founded by Jean Findlay in 2014 on the proceeds of her biography of the translator of Proust (Chatto and Windus UK and Farrar, Straus and Giroux US). Taking that as a literary legacy, the Press has since published sixteen books of memoir, travel, poetry and literary fiction: of which eight titles are by first time authors and nine by women. It has become an award-winning publishing house with a pioneering reputation. *** Action Transport Theatre (in association producers) Action Transport Theatre collaborate with children and young people to create brave, small-scale theatre. From their home, Whitby Hall in Ellesmere Port, they make professional theatre that tours locally and nationally. Recent work includes Little Red and the Big Bad Wolf in collaboration with Unity Theatre, and Adrift, a refugee fairytale created in partnership with a primary school, which is set to tour in spring 2020. Eastern Angles (in association producers) Eastern Angles is the regional touring theatre company for East Anglia. The company has a national reputation for producing high-quality, new writing with a regional flavour. Based at the Sir John Mills Theatre in Ipswich, Eastern Angles has been touring professional theatre productions into the towns and villages of East Anglia since 1982. They also have a pop-up theatre venue at Serpentine Green Shopping Centre in Peterborough called The Undercroft. Eastern Angles have also staged productions at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and at London’s Bush Theatre. www.easternangles.co.uk (all photos © Pooch Purtill, apart from Joe Allen © Mike Kwasniak)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT MATTHEW LINLEY ON 07989748350 | linleymatt@gmail.com