Epic fantasy The Chronicles of Atom & Luna heads on tour

Epic fantasy tale The Chronicles of Atom & Luna is heading on tour this autumn.

The magical children’s adventure from Funnelwick Limb, by poet, writer and broadcaster Murray Lachlan Young (BBC 6 Music), follows young heroes Atom and Luna on a fantastical journey through nature and time.

When Atom and Luna, who have been left home alone, are saved from starvation by an unexpected visitor Iffley Sney, it leads to a series of magical events. When Iffley falls terribly ill, only the twins can save him, and on a journey that will change their lives forever, they must head into the forbidden forest to seek out Old Mother Redbeard.

Writer, Murray Lachlan Young, comments, I'm so excited we are going to be bringing Atom and Luna to life, a project the team and I have been working on since lockdown! It's a wonderful, epic fairy tale – it’s got heart, it’s got soul, it’s got strange characters and above all else it takes you on a magical adventure. It’s been such fun imagining and writing the show, so I can’t wait to see it realised live on stage.

This production stars Becca Bindang (Get Happy, UK Tour), Farrell Cox (Ambivalence, All in the Mind Festival), Alex Scott Fairley (Nothello, Coventry Belgrade Theatre) and Fran Burgoyne (Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Southwark Playhouse). Nina Hajiyianni (Artistic Director, Theatre Porto) directs, with illustrations and design by Bek Palmer (Olivier-nominated What the Ladybird Heard, West End and UK tour). Matthew Linley (The Ballad of Maria Marten, UK tour) is the producer, co-produced by Theatre Porto and Eastern Angles Theatre Company.

Ahead of the tour, audiences can start getting inside the world of Atom and Luna with innovative free digital content available from Funnelwick Limb’s website. Six audio tales (performed by Murray, with music by Orbital’s Paul Hartnoll) delve into the world of the show and a unique, playable augmented reality storybook game gives players the chance to enter the forbidden wood themselves and seek out Old Mother Redbeard.

The production and digital wrap around has been made possible thanks to funding from Arts Council England using public money raised via the National Lottery.

Funnelwick Limb Ltd grew out of the success of The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps which was launched in April 2019 to considerable critical acclaim – as a book, as an audio drama, as a tablet game, as a VR experience and as a live show.

Funnelwick Limb exists to develop cross platform storytelling work, primarily but not exclusively, for family audiences. We combine live performance with family-friendly VR experiences, games and audio content with good old school books. We want to inspire and enable digitally-savvy 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.

Website:

https://www.funnelwicklimb.com/the-chronicles-of-atom-luna

Twitter:

@FunnelwickLimb

Instagram:

@funnelwicklimb

Facebook:

@FunnelwickLimb

​Theatre Porto (formerly Action Transport Theatre)

We create original, imaginative theatre, 'for, by and with' children and young people from our base in Ellesmere Port.

Over Summer 2022 we opened the doors of our new theatre and transformed cultural centre in Whitby Park, Ellesmere Port following a £2.8M development, funded by Cheshire West and Chester Council and Arts Council England.

The new venue is the only specialist, purpose-built theatre and cultural centre for children and young people in Cheshire and is one of a small number across England.

Our company has been a producer of original theatre and wide-ranging youth and community work for over 35 years. Founded in 1986 as Action Transport Theatre, the company is proud of its origins, its track-record, and the impact it has had; transforming the lives of local children, young people, and wider communities.

The transformation of much-loved Whitby Hall is a big moment of change for us as an arts organisation and we are excited to tell you that we have changed our name to Theatre Porto in Summer 2022.

Our new name has arisen out of many conversations over time, and more recently, based on creative work we have done with local children and young people around the values of place, play and child centeredness.

https://theatreporto.org/