Atom and Luna: Catching up with the team.

Ahead of the start of the Autumn tour of Atom and Luna we caught up with poet and broadcaster Murray Lachlan Young,  Bek Palmer (designer and puppet maker), and Matthew Linley (producer) of Funnelwick Limb during rehearsals at Harwich Arts Centre.

Picture - Team Atom and Luna outside Harwich Arts Centre during rehearsals

Q: Perhaps you can start by telling us all about The Chronicles of Atom and Luna

Murray:
Gosh where to start – it’s a really epic story which actually spans 100’s, even thousands of years!  But at its heart it’s the story of two children – our hero’s Atom and Luna – ten year old twins who must venture into the magical, forbidden forest to find Old Mother Redbeard in order to save their friend Iffly Sney.  It’s a journey which will change their lives forever!

Picture - Atom and Luna in rehearsal 2024 - Victoria Chen as Atom and Cheleya Mwampulo as Luna

Bek:
We actually started work on the story just before Lockdown, but we kept going even when we couldn’t meet and rehearse in person.  Young people from across the country would send us their maps, character ideas and recipes which all helped to and develop the story.  That’s why we made the six story casts (which you can find for free on You Tube and Spotify) which are like the back story and are now being published as a book, and the Augmented Reality game where you can have a go yourself at journeying into the magical woods to find Old Mother Redbeard just as Atom and Luna do!

Picture Hare (puppet by Bek Palmer) takes a break from rehearsals to read our new book Tales from the Forest, available at shows.

Matthew:
After lockdown when we were able to come together we started work on the performance, first of all in Wivenhoe Woods (near Colchester) and then at Wrabness Nature Reserve and Community Centre.

Q: It sounds as though our Essex countryside was a real influence on the story?

Picture - Murray (writer) and Nina (original director) outside House for Essex by Grayson Perry.

Bek:
One of our actors  described The Chronicles of Atom and Luna as a beautiful blend of fairytale and nature, which is a really good way of putting it.  .

Most of our story is set in a magical forest, so it was fantastic to be able to make the work - quite literally - in Wivenhoe Woods and Wrabness Nature Reserve - two very magical, ancient woodlands.

We hope in a small way we will encourage our audiences to be more connected to the world around us.  

Murray:
And all the way through Lora - our forager in residence - kept introducing us to all the stories connected to the nature we were encountering.  We were literally embracing natures stories as we made our own

Q  Resident Forager?  That’s not something you see in every theatre team is it?

Picture Lora Aziz our Resident Forager at work with the company in Wrabness.

Murray:
No not at all – and in fact when we first started to talk with Lora I don’t think we knew what we meant by Resident Forager – but increasingly Lora has become involved in all aspects of our project. Her knowledge and expertise is informing the story, the design, and the smells an audience will experience when they come and see The Chronicles of Atom and Luna. Lora has been helping us link the story we are telling with the myths associated with the natural world, as well as helping us to explore how Old Mother Redbeard, and indeed the children, might survive in the magical wood we have been creating!

Picture - in rehearsal Alex Scott Fairley, Mr Hare and Puppet Maker/Designer Bek Palmer.

Q: What can audiences expect?

Matthew:
Well having done an initial tour of the show we can tell you what audiences thought! These are two of my favourite comments

 ‘Three generations of ladies in the front row, we were all mesmerised and I was in tears.  Just beautiful.  Great cast.  Thrilling to show my daughter real theatre’

 ‘Fabulous storytelling, a magical experience and stunning puppets’

Bek:
For me it’s a cracking adventure story with lots of different elements which adults and children will love!  Good storytelling feels really important right now!

Murray:
It’s also all about children – and how resilient they are, and how they have to fight to find their place in the world when they are disempowered by things that happen in life.  Often adults have the power don’t they and our story is about children coming into their own, and being the heroes of their story.  Its also about working together – Atom & Luna have to play to their strengths to succeed.

Murray:
And if we encourage some of our young audiences to start telling their own stories – in whatever form they want -  then I think we will have done our job!

Q You’ve been rehearsing the show in Harwich, and then performing in venues across Tendring as part of a national tour?

Matthew:
Well we were so inspired by our time in Wrabness we moved the company just down the road to Harwich, and our new home - the Harwich Arts and Heritage Centre. 

So, it’s absolutely true to say that The Chronicles of Atom and Luna was not only inspired by the Tendring countryside, but now it will also be made in Tendring too!  And we’re really looking forward to performing the show in both Harwich and Jaywick as part of this years tour.

Thanks so much for talking to us!  Good luck with rehearsals and we’ll look forward to seeing the show soon.