Client – Collaboration with Murray Lachlan Young and Nina Hajiyianni
Role – Creative Producer
The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps was launched on April 11th 2019. Told across performance, book, audiobook/recording, VR, and tablet the work has been on (so far) three tours. Its Spring 2020 tour was halted as a result of Covid19, however we hope to return to many of our canceled venues in Spring 21.
Despite the disappointment of lockdown the team have been busy developing their next show – ATOM AND LUNA. More details of that show can be found here.
The current tour booking period for The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps is 10-21 February 2021. Tour booking document is below.
Listen to the full show on soundcloud here, visit the show’s own mini site here or try out our interactive educational resources here
THE CREDITS
Written by Murray Lachlan Young
Performed by Murray Lachlan Young with Simone Lewis or Joe Allen
Music by Arun Ghosh
Set by Bek Palmer
Associate Director Scott Hurran
Lighting by Julie Kearney
VR and tablet game by MBD Ltd
Impact Study by Essex University
Company Stage Manager Thomas Vowles (Autumn 19 onwards) or Esther Malkinson (April 2019)
Reviews –
’10 out of 10′ The Guardian
‘infectious gothic humour ….deliciously devillish’ The Stage
Exuberant spoken word is brought to even greater life with charming, quirky performances – Everything Theatre
‘a glorious gothic tale in the style of Tim Burton and the Borthers Grimm….a real theatrical treat’ Colchester Gazette
and
‘a magical charming world which unfolds before us on stage as [Murray] draws everyone into the colourful saga of the de Faversham Clumps of Raddlesham Mumps’ Norwich Eye
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!
After the windswept double funeral of his parents, 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 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’ thats perfect for lovers of Harry Potter, Tim Burton, Lemony Snicket and The Brothers Grimm!
Suitable for 7+
.Here’s a few of the things our audiences have been saying about the show:
‘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 exhilarating from start to finish. Smiled from ear to ear in wonder and awe of it’s, and Murray Lachlan Young’s 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
Just breathtaking. The writing, the direction, the music, the costume, the pace, every detail was extraordinary….GO GO GO see this show
‘So cleverly written and performed, and lovely to hear the laughter from the little people in the audience. Reminded me of reading Dr Seuss to mine’ @Lynz0075
‘As someone who doesnt really ‘do’ theatre I’m not sure what I was expecting from the Raddlesham Mumps but I honestly loved it! Such a fantastic story and the performances were astounding. A truly gripping, spellbinding fairytale’ Lisa Gibbs
For bookings please contact Matthew Linley on linleymatt@gmail.com or 079897 48350
For box office briefing sheets, basic information and tech specs see below
RUNNING TIME
60 minutes – no interval
AGE GUIDANCE
7-107
TEAM ON THE ROAD
Usually 4, 2 cast, 1 stage management, 1 production
2 vehicles – 1 car, 1 LWB transit van
WHAT IS IT
A modern cautionary tale performed by Murray Lachlan Young and Joe Allen (cast correct at time of going to press). 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 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 – but it’s also slightly scary – and definitely funny scary!
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 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.
REASONS TO BOOK
· It’s a high quality show with high production values
· It’s a family show which plays equally well to adults and children
· It’s in a unique genre of its own – a mash up of story telling, physical theatre, spoken word, fantasy and drama. (Howard Blake Snowman fame called it a
· The audience feedback is testament to how well the show is going down live
· Written and performed by the BBC 6 Music Poet in Residence Murray Lachlan Young
· Brilliant creative team behind the show including Nina Hajiyianni (Artistic Director of Action Transport Theatre), Arun Ghosh (award winning jazz musician and theatre composer) and Bek Palmer
· Proven audience potential
· Already existing high quality marketing materials including trailer, production shots, audience feedback and online and VR materials. Media interest in Murray and the show remains high
SIZE OF VENUE
150+
LOOKING FOR:-
Ideally split weeks with a mix of early evening (show has proven adult demand) and matinees. A possible ideal run would look as follows
Day 1 -10am – pre rig. 1pm – team arrive with set. Get In. 7pm – show 1
Day 2 – 3pm – show 2. 7pm – show 3
Tech spec is below and LX plans are all now available.
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. Its accessible,it uses a playful, fun and immediate style of theatre and story telling. 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
For bookings please contact Matthew Linley on linleymatt@gmail.com or 079897 48350
For box office briefing sheets, basic information and tech specs see below
THE TECH SPEC
These technical specifications are subject to change. Please note these are the full tech specs, a reduced version is available. For the latest information please contact or Matthew Linley on 07989748350 or 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 a 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 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. No onstage monitors required – just FOH output.
Our SM operates sound. We ask for a techician to operate lx, cue’d by the SM..
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 24 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 graves special (2 profiles – 1 channel)
728 top special (1 profile or fresnel)
156 set specials (3 profiles)
127 gobos (small dot breakup B Size) (2 profiles)
085 blue special (1 profile)
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 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 or Simone Lewis (performer)
– Stage Manager (thomas Vowles)
– Production staff
Technical Support
We ask for 2 venue technician to assist throughout our get in and get out, with 1 operator required for each show
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
.