The Mystery of The Raddlesham Mumps Written and performed by Murray Lachlan Young Directed by Nina Hajiyianni
Music by Arun Ghosh
Celebrated poet and broadcaster MURRAY LACHLAN YOUNG presents his thrilling new performance for audiences of all ages. A must for lovers of Harry Potter, Edward Gory, Lemony Snicket and the Hobbit! Touring 12 April to 29 April and 18 October to 9 November 2019 Running Time 90 minutes (or 70 minutes without interval) Suitable for 6+ and their families and grown ups. School audiences ideal for KS2, yrs 4 /5 Three on the road – two performers and one stage manager After a series of unfortunate deaths 7 year old Crispin (or Crispin de Quincy de Faversham Clumps-to give him his full name) inherits his ancestral home – Raddlesham Mumps. He finds himself in a huge empty house with only an ancient butler for company. And when that butler, Kenilworth, begins to tell him of the bizarre and hilarious deaths of his deeply eccentric ancestors our story takes flight on darkly comic wings. In his new show for families Murray mixes dark story telling and poetry with a brilliant score, a healthy dose of physical theatre and a touch of panto in a long, long gothic tale which will make you and your family shudder and laugh out loud. The Mystery of Raddlesham Mumps is - in the words of our first audiences….. Brilliant….. Gripping….. Captivating….. Breath taking….. wonderfully absurd……loved the silly and scary bits Epic…… Wonderful characterisation…..Really funny…..
Matthew Linley Creative Projects | Studio 118, SPACE STUDIOS, 37 Queen Street, Colchester | 07989748350 | www.matthewlinley.com linleymatt@gmail.com 079897 48350
The Mystery of The Raddlesham Mumps About Murray Lachlan Young The best since Betjeman Neil Tennant Simply Brilliant—Hysterically funny and strangely moving— Claudia Winkleman Really well told, gripping and exciting. Brilliantly brought to life characters—audience member on test performance of The Mystery of Raddlesham Mumps BIOGRAPHY: 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 BBC6 Music, Radio 4, Radio 2 and on Channel 4's The Wright Stuff. His recent collection How freakin' Zeitgeist are you'has already sold over 5,000 copies (entering the main Amazon UK book chart at number four and becoming a number one best seller in humorous verse and poetry), and he regularly performs to audiences of over 15,000 a year. Back in 1996 Murray caused a media storm when he became the first poet to sign a £1m contract (with EMI). Murray has also written for Shakespeare’s globe, The CERN institute in Switzerland, 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.
MURRAY’S PREVIOUS WORK FOR CHILDREN: Watch Annie McClue here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQerZSWZ4hw
‘Beginning with an introductory fanfare and high-fives with the audience, Murray Lachlan Young created an amazing rapport with all captivating us for a joyful hour of pure and interactive creativity’ The Brighton Argus on Modern Cautionary Tales for Children
‘Essentially, Young’s show defies description. Best of all, he knows exactly what your average 6–10-year-old is interested in – toilets, poo and death being three key subjects discussed. A literary event, a standup show, a cosy chat – Modern Cautionary Tales for Children is all these things, and more’ The Scotsman Find out more about Murray and his work at http://www.murraylachlanyoung.co.uk/
Matthew Linley Creative Projects | Studio 118, SPACE STUDIOS, 37 Queen Street, Colchester | 07989748350 | www.matthewlinley.com linleymatt@gmail.com 079897 48350
The Mystery of The Raddlesham Mumps Venue Information Sheet SUITABLE FOR: Theatres with 200-400 capacity 1-3 day runs (can be combined with evening performances of Murray’s stand up poetry show How Freakin Zeitgeist are you) Are able to provide a pre rig 6m x 6m stage space. Minimum 4 hr get in (more preferred) 2 techs for the in, 1 tech during shows and get out FEES: 10% royalty 75% of box office to artist with a small minimum guarantee (£600 per performance minimum). RUNNING TIME: 70 minutes, no interval or 90 minutes with interval SUITABILITY: Family audiences, 6+
AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT: Subject to funding Murray will be able to visit venues taking the show for 3 or more days to run advance workshops. Allowing for travel the two day visit would allow for an afternoon and evening workshop on the first day, and two day time workshops on the second day. Workshops will encourage participants to develop their creative writing skills or develop their performance skills (especially of their own writing). All workshops will use The Mystery of Raddlesham Mumps as a base. As part of the programme mini performances in schools assembly’s etc will be possible. We can work with you to programme the visit, or work independently. MARKETING SUPPORT: We’ll provide
- A two minute audience focused trailer - Print (flyers, posters and e flyer) - Tour PR. The tour PR will also work alongside the other elements of the project – the book (published by Scotland Street Press) and audio book/ recording. - Standard press release for you to use with your own contacts - Our marketing team will stay in touch with the venue team and support and develop targeted sales initiatives with you. FOR BOOKINGS CONTACT Matthew Linley @matthewlinley.co.uk linleymatt@gmail.com 079897 48350 Crispin Thomas @ murraylachlanyoung.co.uk crispinctm@gmail.com 01453 757376
Matthew Linley Creative Projects | Studio 118, SPACE STUDIOS, 37 Queen Street, Colchester | 07989748350 | www.matthewlinley.com linleymatt@gmail.com 079897 48350
The Mystery of The Raddlesham Mumps The team Writter / Performer—Murray Lachlan Young Directer - Nina Hajiyianni Composer - Arun Ghosh Illustrations and co-designer Julie Verhoeven Movement - Laura Biggs Associate Director – Scott Hurran Creative Producer – Matthew Linley
Production Photography and documentation—Pooch Purtil Nina Hajiyianni (director) is a director and theatre maker who specialises in creating authentic work for children and young people. She is Artistic Director of Action Transport Theatre (ATT), a National Portfolio Organisation funded by Arts Council England, based in Ellesmere Port. Recent credits include the critically acclaimed; Little Red and the Big Bad Wolf (with Unity Theatre), Happily Ever After and STATIk. Nina has also directed large-scale community plays including Fire From Heaven for the Dorchester Community Play Association. As a freelancer, Nina has worked with Live Theatre, Northern Stage, Welfare State International and many other companies in the North East. Nina served as an Executive Committee member of ASSITEJ, the global association of Theatre for Young Audiences and as Chair of TYA UK for 6 years during which time, the ASSITEJ Artistic Gathering and World Festival was hosted in the UK for the first time. Arun Ghosh (composer) is a British-Asian clarinettist and multi-instrumentalist, composer and music educator. Awarded 'Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year' at the 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 Matthew Linley (creative producer) is a freelance theatre maker / producer and former Artistic Director/CEO of Liverpool’s Unity Theatre. Current projects include Into the Cuckoo’s Nest (Martin Green (Lau) and Lepus Productions), When Did You Stop Dancing (What A Little Bird Told Me Theatre), Lonely Hearts Club (Luke Barnes), Shuff & Byng (Tony Lidington) and Stitch Brothers Patchwork of Dreams (Jason Singh/Arun Ghosh and Farbric Lenny). Previous producing credits include Horny Handed Tons of Soil (for Phrased & Confused), Nina – a story about me and Nina Simone (for Unity Theatre) and over 18 shows for Eastern Angles where he was General Manager. He has also led venues in Leicester (Phoenix Arts), Reading (21 South Street Arts Centre) and Bath (Michael Tippett Centre). Matthew Linley Creative Projects | Studio 118, SPACE STUDIOS, 37 Queen Street, Colchester | 07989748350 | www.matthewlinley.com linleymatt@gmail.com 079897 48350
The Mystery of The Raddlesham Mumps The team (continued) Julie Verhoeven (illustrator and co-designer) is a British illustrator and designer who has collaborated with brands such as Louis Vuitton, Versace and Peter Jensen. While she is recognised primarily for her work in fashion, she has also contributed illustrations to books, magazines and album covers (where she first worked with Murray on illustrations for a Times article). Her work has been widely exhibited, including at London's Hayward Gallery. She is a design academic at both Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art.
Laura Williamson Biggs (movement) 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.
Scott Hurran (associate director) trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama, and RADA. He is currently Artistic Associate at Eastern Angles, and Associate Artist at the Mercury Theatre. 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 Stars by Atiha Sen Gupta (Assembly, Edinburgh Fringe,) Shortlisted for the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award, The House of Bernarda Alba (Kings Head Theatre), Three to Four Days (Theatre 503) Immigrant (Theatre Uncut, Young Vic), The Grandfathers (National Theatre Connections, Theatre Chipping Norton and Oxford Playhouse), and The Seventh Continent (Prague Quadrennial)
The development of The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps has been made possible by the financial support of Arts Council England and Essex County Council. Partner and production support has been provided by Eastern Angles. The book The Mystery of Raddlesham Mumps is available now, published by Scotland Street Press
Matthew Linley Creative Projects | Studio 118, SPACE STUDIOS, 37 Queen Street, Colchester | 07989748350 | www.matthewlinley.com linleymatt@gmail.com 079897 48350
The Mystery of The Raddlesham Mumps Box Office Briefing Sheet
PERFORMANCE: The Mystery of Raddlesham Mumps COMPANY: Murray Lachlan Young / Matthew Linley Creative Projects WEBSITE: www.murraylachlanyoung.co.uk WHAT IS IT: A modern cautionary tale performed by Murray Lachlan Young . Written in rhyming verse throughout it tells the story of what happens to Crispin when at the age of 7 he inherits Raddlesham Mumps (a crumbling house in the country). Murray tells the story accompanied by live music from Arun Ghosh AGE RANGE: 6 to adult RUNNING TIME: 90 minutes, no interval or 70 minutes without interval SUITABILITY: No swearing or nudity. SPECIAL EFFECTS: N/A SELLING POINTS Entertains and resonates with children and adults It’s a gothic adventure story. Its truly epic – with deaths, a young boy, a 100 year old butler, witches, fairies and ghosts. Its written and performed by Murray Lachlan Young, the BBC 6 Music Poet in residence Accessible, playful fun and immediate style of theatre and storytelling. Its 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: Adults who have an interest in storytelling, poetry and spoken word Families Children and young people aged 6+ fans of Harry Potter of His Dark Materials for example Schools audiences Fans of Murray Lachlan Young’s work on BBC 6 Music, across the BBC and on the Wright Stuff FOR BOOKINGS CONTACT Matthew Linley @matthewlinley.co.uk linleymatt@gmail.com 079897 48350 Crispin Thomas @ murraylachlanyoung.co.uk crispinctm@gmail.com 01453 757376 Matthew Linley Creative Projects | Studio 118, SPACE STUDIOS, 37 Queen Street, Colchester | 07989748350 | www.matthewlinley.com linleymatt@gmail.com 079897 48350