It’s 1969. Annis, a young autistic woman, is sent by her stepmother to live as a patient at Castle Lennox, where the rules of the outside world do not apply. Desperate to escape, she very quickly lands herself in trouble and makes an enemy of the nurse in charge. Feeling lost and alone, she is befriended by fellow residents who show her another Castle Lennox, a world of colour and song, one that is a welcome relief from the monotonous regime of pills and porridge. But Annis can’t help wanting to be free.
Linda McLean (Glory on Earth at The Lyceum) has written a play with songs (by MJ McCarthy) about the strength, wit and resilience of those who were sent to institutions for people with learning disabilities during a regime of segregation from the 1930s to the 1990s.
This inspiring tale, based on a real institution, is brought to the stage in collaboration between Lung Ha Theatre Company and the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh.
Amy McCombes
Colin McIlveny
Emma Clark
Emma McCaffrey
Fern Brodie
Fletcher Mathers
Gavin Yule
Jodie Lavin
John Edgar
Kay Ann Jacobs
Keith Watson
Kenneth Ainslie
Kevin Lennon
Kirsty Eila
McIntyre
Leigh Flynn
Lewis
Drummond
Liza Gogoliuk
Magnus Turpie
Mark Howie
Matthew Frame
Morgan
Dalgleish
Naomi Dickie
Nicola Tuxworth
Paul Harper
Rachel Amey
Onstage Support: Belle Claudi, Sarah Mooney, Ryan Duncan. Thanks to Lung Ha Theatre Company actors who contributed to the development of Castle Lennox: Jonathan Allan, Scott Davidson, Katy Gow, Galina MacNeacail, Teri Robb and Karen Stewart.
Writer & lyricist Linda McLean
Composer Michael John McCarthy
Director Maria Oller
Set Designer Karen Tennent
Costume Designer Alison Brown
Lighting Designer Simon Wilkinson
Sound Designer/Engineer Calum Paterson
Movement Director Janice Parker
Musical Director David Paul Jones
Associate Director Fiona Mackinnon
BSL Consultant Carol Robertson
BSL Interpreter Rachel Amey
Researchers Bechaela Walker & Howard Mitchell
Stage Manager Lee Davies
Deputy Stage Manager Naomi Stalker
Assistant Stage Manager Hannah Henderson
Alan Wilkins Memorial, Baillie Gifford, Enzo Londei Trust, Margaret Duffy, Peter Williamson, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and RS MacDonald Charitable Trust for their support of this production.
Emily Pirie, Ewan McDougall, Harriet Hunter, Kathleen Wilson, Leah Kincer, Lindsey Rowlands, Paul Vallis, Sheila Thomson, Sue Gyford, Belle Claudi, Sarah Mooney, Ryan Duncan.
It’s a delight to be able to welcome you to the performance of Castle Lennox. This production has been in the making since 2015 when Linda McLean wrote Thingummy Bob for Lung Ha and said to me that there is another play that she needs to write for us, Castle Lennox. Soon after David Greig, Artistic Director of The Lyceum got involved, it became a collaboration between the two theatres. When Composer MJ McCarthy joined in, it was clear that this is a musical. Rehearsal started in January 2020, with an unfortunate sudden stop due to the pandemic. Castle Lennox was on hold for three years, so the commitment, excitement, and the determination to tell this story is stronger than ever. It is the first time Lung Ha Theatre Company is performing on the grand Lyceum stage and I would like to thank here The Lyceum team for the fantastic collaboration we have managed to create during challenging times.
I hope you will enjoy the performance as much as we are enjoying telling this important story about the past, a reminder that things have moved on for the better, but that there is still a way to go, or as Annis asks in the play “Are we there yet?”
Maria Oller Lung Ha Theatre Company Artistic Director and Castle Lennox DirectorCastle Lennox is not my story. It’s a play shaped by the full cast of Lung Ha Theatre Company, extensive research and some childhood memories of visiting a kind of hospital that no longer exists.
When I first spoke to Maria Oller, the Artistic Director of the Company, about the idea, she invited me to come and speak to the actors, to share some of those memories and ask if they would like to tell the story of such a place. They were very keen.
We talked at length about it happening in a castle and how magical that sounded. We talked about the warmth and friendship between many of the patients; and how an experience can be shaped by kindness or its opposite. At some point we decided that cloaking the story in the fine veil of an old familiar fairytale would make for the kind of telling we wanted.
And then one of the actors asked if there would be songs because that was their favourite thing. It was everyone’s favourite. Mine too. And so, Castle Lennox, the musical, was conceived. Writing words to be sung was a major highlight for me. One of the songs is the weekly menu set to music. It’s called Monday is Macaroni and is probably my favourite, not least because the chorus is “Yuck yuck yuck yuck yuck”. Although I’d have to say that What Do You Wear When You Want to Look Attractive, is a strong competitor and I’ll bet you’ll be humming at least one of them on your way home. The Lung Ha cast is brilliantly assisted by their support team and the Lyceum’s all singing, all dancing group of actors and musicians.
There were many firsts for me in writing this show, including the opportunity to incorporate a British Sign Language interpreter from the very beginning so that she is also a character in the play. She brought a whole new layer to my understanding of the production. It’s not my intention to gloss over the harsh aspects of the story or pretend that the play is not dealing with issues of ethics and morality, but I have no need to beat that drum. The fact that you are sitting in a theatre, watching the very people who would have been in such a place perform this story with skill and joie de vivre speaks for itself.
I want to thank Maria Oller and David Greig for making this possible. From the bottom of my heart.
Linda Mclean Playwright, Castle Lennox Writer and LyricistLinda McLean is a prize-winning playwright based in Glasgow. Her plays have been produced internationally, most notably in the USA and France. For The Lyceum, she wrote Glory on Earth. During the pandemic she wrote Go On, a response to Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, for The Citizens Theatre, Glasgow. Previously, for Lung Ha Theatre Company, she wrote Thingummy Bob Castle Lennox is her first musical.
Lyceum Credits:
Lyceum Christmas Tales ; Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of); The Duchess (of Malfi), Wendy & Peter Pan; The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other ; Glory on Earth; The Weir ; Bondagers
Theatre credits:
Kidnapped (National Theatre of Scotland); Little Red Riding Hood (Citizen’s Theatre); Cinderella (Dundee Rep); The Last Return (Druid Theatre Company); The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart (Manchester Royal Exchange); Pride & Prejudice* (*Sort Of) (Criterion Theatre); Nora: A Doll’s House (Young Vic & Citizen’s Theatre); Whatever Happened to the Jaggy Nettles? (Citizens Theatre); I Can Go Anywhere (Traverse Theatre, Tay Bridge, Dundee Rep).
Television, Film and Radio:
Hey! Ronnie Reagan (Marmalade Films); Pitching Up (Guardian Documentaries); On The Hemline (Tyrella Films).
Awards:
Olivier Award for Pride and Prejudice *(sort of) (Best Entertainment or Comedy Play 2022); Scotsman Fringe First Awards for The Last Return, What Girls Are Made Of, Ulster America, The Red Shed, Heads Up, The Interference, Light Boxes, A Gambler’s Guide to Dying, Letters Home, Educating Ronnie. Critics Award for Ulster American (Best Production); Irish Times Theatre Award Jimmy’s Hall (Best Soundscape nomination).
Castle Lennox Director & Artistic Director of Lung Ha Theatre Company / Maria Oller
Lung Ha credits include:
An Unexpected Hiccup (co-directed with Ian Cameron); We Are All Just Little Creatures (co-directed with Jo Timmins of Lyra and Christine Devaney of Curious Seed); Three Sisters ; Thingummy Bob; Dr Stirlingshire’s Discovery ; The Silent Treatment ; 13 Sunken Years, Medea’s Children; Un Petite Molière
Theatre credits include:
Christmas Dinner ; Glory on Earth; The Iliad, Caucasian Chalk Circle and The Wizard of Oz (The Lyceum); An Unexpected Hiccup; We are All just Little Creatures (coproduced with Curious Seed and in association with Lyra); ThingammyBob; Emma and Gill (co-produced with Catherine Wheels); Three Sisters, Dr Stirlingshire’s Discovery (co-produced with Grid Iron Theatre Company);
The Hold, Un Petit Molière, Instant Travels to Pop Up Cities, The Home Made Child (Lung Ha Theatre Company); The Man In The Submarine, Educating Rita (Perth Theatre); Don Quixote (Dundee Rep/Perth Theatre); Muster Station (Grid Iron/Edinburgh International Festival 2022); Fieldsomething for the future now (Curious Seed & Edinburgh International Festival 2021 & Festival Cultura Inglesa Sao Paolo, Brazil 2022); Lots Not Lots (Greg Sinclair); Rubble (Scottish Opera); The Children (Dundee Rep); And if not Now ...When - a film (installation by Philip Pinsky and Karen Lamond for COP26).
Awards:
CATS Best Design Hansel and Gretel (Catherine Wheels); Nominated New York Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Design Hansel and Gretel (Catherine Wheels).
Lyceum Theatre and Lung Ha Theatre Company credits: The Lover ; Three Sisters ; The Silent Treatment (2016); Fergus Steps Out, A Distant Suma, Exotic Hyperspace, Instant Travels to Pop-Up Cities (2001) and Are Unheard Memories Sweet?
Training: Printed Textiles at Edinburgh College of Art, returning latterly as a Lecturer in the Performance Costume Department.
Lighting Designer / Simon Wilkinson
Theatre credits:
A Mother’s Song (Macrobert Arts Centre); A Love Beyond (Raw Material/Vanishing Point; Peter Pan (Pitlochry); Undertow Overflow (Scottish Tour); The Stamping Ground (Eden Court, Highlands & Raw Material co-production); I Am Tiger (Perth Theatre); Metamorphosis (Vanishing Pont); Islander (New York / London / Edinburgh); The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (Helen Milne Productions); An Unexpected Hiccup (Lung Ha Theatre Company); Bedknobs and Broomsticks (UK & Ireland Tour); Flight (Vox Motus); The Magic Flute (Robert Lepage); The Children (Dundee Rep).
Awards:
Critics Award For Theatre in Scotland for Best Design for Flight (2018), Black Beauty (2017) and Bondagers (2015).
Lyceum Theatre credits: Life is a Dream; Wendy & Peter Pan; Mrs Puntila & Her Man Matti; Pride & Prejudice* (*Sort of); The Hour We Knew Nothing Of Each Other Theatre credits: The Dodo Experiment (Citizen’s Theatre); Me & My Sister, If You’re Feeling Sinister (Tron Theatre); The Cheviot, The Stag and The Black Black Oil (National Theatre of Scotland); Message From The Skies (Edinburgh’s Hogmanay); Happiness Collectors, Merry (The Audio Story Co); SPRING! (Scottish Ballet); Stand By (Utter Theatre); Ceilidh (Theatre
Gu Leor); Design By Disaster (Braw Fox Theatre); Sleeping Beauty (Qdos Entertainment); Working A Musical (DEM Productions).
Television and Film credits: Happy Ark Day (National Theatre of Scotland, BBC Scotland); The Unseen Child (Hopscotch Theatre Co.)
Lyceum credits:
The Strange Undoing of Prudentia Hart, Life Is a Dream, The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other, Glory On Earth
Theatre credits:
Medea (Edinburgh International Festival/National Theatre of Scotland); Wind Resistance (Karine Polwart); The View From Castle Rock, Age of Arousal, The Girls of Slender Means (Stellar Quines); Crazy Jane (Birds of Paradise); Endurance (A Moments Peace); Exotic Hyper Space, Instant Travel to Pop Up Cities (Lung Ha Theatre Company).
Dance credits include:
To Avoid Falling Apart (The Travelling Gallery); Not Brittle, Not Rigid, Not Fixed (Edinburgh Art Festival); Small Acts of Hope and Lament (Edinburgh International Festival); Writing The Body (National Galleries of Scotland); Glory, What Would Richard Do?, You Said You Liked The Dancing, Private Dancer (Janice Parker Projects); The Living Room Dances (The Albert Drive Project).
Awards include: Herald Angel; Creative Scotland Award; Saltire Society Outstanding Woman of Scotland.
Lyceum credits: The Yellow Door.
Theatre credits:
Love Beyond (Ramesh Meyyappan/Raw Material/ Vanishing Point); Once Upon A Snowstorm (Lyra), Muster Station: Leith (Grid Iron/Edinburgh International Festival), Little By Little Field (Curious Seed/Imaginate); The Coat (RCS).
Recent Theatre Interpreting Credits: Downs with Love (Cutting Edge Theatre); Pain and I (Sarah Hopfinger); One of Two (Birds of Paradise Theatre); The Not So Ugly Duckling (Jo Clifford/Maria MacDonell); Miss Lindsay’s Secret (Maria MacDonell); Within Sight (In The Works), The Brunch Club (Grid Iron); In the Ink Dark (Luke Pell); We Are All Just Little Creatures (Curious Seed and Lung Ha Theatre Company co-production in association with Lyra); InVisible Lines (Kath Burlinson), And the Birds
Did Sing, Teenage Trilogy (Curious Seed); Auld Lang Syne, Pulse (Mairi Campbell); Annis Mother.
Trained at:
Exeter University BA (Drama), Heriot Watt University MA (BSL Interpreting).
Recent Director credits:
Brainstorm (Perth Theatre); The Dodo Experiment (Citizens Theatre); Robin Hood (Cumbernauld Theatre); Pippin (The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland); Flora’s Fairy Challenge (Beacon Arts Centre); Summer Heart (Tron Theatre).
Recent Associate and Assistant Director credits: Panopticon (National Theatre of Scotland); The Three Sisters (Lung Ha Theatre Company); Meet Me at Dawn (Edinburgh International Festival/Traverse Theatre Company), Shall Roger Casement Hang? (Tron Theatre Company); Whatever Gets You Through The Night, (The Arches).
Film credits as Associate Director: A Brief History of the Fragile Male Ego (Jordan and Skinner).
Trained at: The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
“the audience get to see that even in a brutal landscape, joy, friendship and compassion are all possible”
Linda McLean
Amy McCombes / Robyn (a patient)
Amy joined Lung Ha in 2016. Amy has enjoyed learning from the talented, inspiring members of Lung Ha. She developed her skills so much she recently was able to gain experience as an assistant director of Robin Hood at Cumbernauld Theatre. Amy likes animals, art, reading and walking.
Colin McIlveny / Graham (a patient)
Colin has been attending Lung Ha since 2012. Colin really enjoys his drama classes and meeting up with his friends. Colin also enjoys his work at Roots and Fruits where he volunteers and during the pandemic received an award for his work. Colin likes to buy DVDs from charity shops and get a poster of the covers.
Emma Clark / Jo (a patient)
Emma has been a member of Lung Ha since 2015 when she played and sang in the band for Jekyll and Hyde. She loves being part of Lung Ha, learning acting skills with friends and being involved with exciting, innovative productions. She is also a musician and performer with Drake Music Scotland.
Emma McCaffrey / Annis
Emma joined Lung Ha in 2013. She plays tenor horn and enjoys filming and editing. Emma enjoys character work, improv, voice work and movement as well as getting to be on stage. She has also worked with the National Theatre of Scotland, Stellar Quines, and Catherine Wheels.
Fern
Fern joined Lung Ha in 2017. She has always loved everything about theatre and loved performing in shows at Pilrig Park School. She was so happy when she got the chance to join Lung Ha and now enjoys having a new circle of friends. She also recently joined Inspire Theatre.
Fletcher Mathers / The Laundress, Staff Nurse & Ma’am
The Lyceum credits: Stiff, Whisky Galore and The Duchess of Malfi.
Theatre credits: To Begin; The 306 Day; The Reason I Jump; Shif; First Snow and Medea (National Theatre of Scotland).
Gavin Yule / William (a patient)
Gavin joined Lung Ha in 2016. He has loved performing from a young age, appearing in musicals, plays and pantomimes at school before training as an actor. He graduated from Fife College in 2015. Gavin enjoys that Lung Ha is like a family and the productions are one big collaboration.
Jodie Lavin / Cindy (a patient)
Jodie joined Lung Ha in June 2022 after doing an online workshop during Covid although she much prefers being in the same room as all the other actors. It is a great way to meet and work with new people. She is really looking forward to acting on stage with everyone. Jodie plays the drums and until now that and singing karaoke have been where she has performed. Jodie enjoys music and football in her spare time and playing a game called Boccia which she did at the Special Olympics.
John Edgar / Andy (a patient)
John joined Lung Ha in 1993, with his first play The Dream at Theatre Workshop. John has enjoyed all the plays he’s performed in and has been on tour several times, including to the Highlands and to Dublin Arts Centre. He enjoys live performances with everyone together, he thinks the production teams are good and so are the stories. John enjoys playing guitar as a hobby and going to the cinema. He really loves coming to Lung Ha.
visitor)
Kay Ann joined Lung Ha in 1986. Her first show was Mrs Mackechenie Meets the Megaloths at Theatre Workshop, and the company made their own sets and costume from scratch. Kay Ann likes Lung Ha because she likes performing and says, “Fly me to the moon.”
Keith Watson / Boss (a patient)
Keith’s first play with Lung Ha was Antigone in 2012. He likes being a member of Lung Ha because it makes him feel amazing. He finds his skills are improving more and more because of the support from people around him. Keith also enjoys swimming, art and theatre.
Kenneth Ainslie / Thomas (a patient)
Kenny joined Lung Ha in 2011. He likes going on stage and acting with others and he also enjoys his long-term job as Leisure Assistant at his local sports centre. Kenny appeared in Connect (2019), a film about mental health in young men filmed in East Lothian, which premiered at the Glasgow film festival. His favourite show is Antigone because it was his first appearance with Lung Ha.
Kevin Lennon / The Doctor
Kevin, from Dumfries and Galloway, trained at the Samuel Beckett Centre, Trinity College, Dublin, graduating in 1999. He has worked extensively across Scotland, the UK and internationally, as an actor and musician and as a composer. He has previously worked with Lung Ha Theatre Company, Curious Seed and Lyra on We Are All Just Little Creatures and with The Lyceum on Mary Queen Of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off, Charlie Sonata and Red Ellen. On television he has appeared in Still Game and Outlander
Kirsty Eila McIntyre
The Lyceum credits: Glory On Earth, Beauty and the Beast. Recent theatre credits: Little By Little Field (Curious Seed); Deliverance (Brite Theater/Vanishing Point); The Myth of the Singular Moment (Tortoise in a Nutshell/Jim Harbourne); A War of Two Halves (Nonsense Room & My Story Productions); The Arrival (Solar Bear).
Television and Film credits: A View From The Terrace (Project Unicorn); Are We Born To Fear?, The Last Bus Benchmark 6.
Awards: The Myth of the Singular Moment, Summerhall Award, Vault Festival London, 2018.
Leigh Flynn / Molly (a patient)
Leigh joined Lung Ha in 1985. She enjoys meeting new people and Lung Ha is her social life. Leigh likes touring and has toured to Paris, Mull, and Glasgow. She loves acting, doing jigsaws, and going for meals with relatives. Leigh looks after her ill mum and is always happy.
Lewis Drummond / Mr. Boyd (a visitor)
Lewis joined Lung Ha in 2022. He likes Lung Ha because the people are very accepting. He also likes using his acting skills to entertain people. Lewis loves all the arts and theatre shows, and also likes keeping fit and he is a trained Barista. He loves being part of Lung Ha Theatre Company.
Liza Gogoliuk / Mrs Heard (a visitor)
Liza is a new member of Lung Ha and loves it! She joined the company in 2022 and likes being in Lung Ha because she has lots of fun with the other actors, dancing and singing and laughing with them. When Liza is not at Lung Ha she likes sewing, art and music.
Magnus Turpie / Luke (a patient)
Magnus joined Lung Ha in 2018. He enjoys rehearsing and performing with the other actors. An experienced performing musician, Magnus plays traditional and jazz music and participates in LiveMusicNowScotland’s ‘Pathways’ scheme for emerging musicians. Magnus is currently working on the DofE Gold programme. He loves golf, lawn bowling, climbing and cycling.
Mark Howie / Noah (a patient)
Mark has been with Lung Ha since 2007 and enjoys meeting the other actors and very talented staff. He loves the variety of plays and enjoys the new experiences he has. Everyone’s so friendly and welcoming. Lung Ha is a big part of Mark’s life and the highlight of his week.
Matthew Frame / Pogo (a patient)
Matthew joined Lung Ha in 2022. He has always loved the theatre and performing. It gives him a buzz and confidence. He is so excited to be part of Lung Ha and have the opportunity to make new friends. He works with the NHS part time and loves animals and helping people.
Morgan Dalgleish / Dozey (a patient)
Morgan is a cheery, sociable, and enthusiastic Lung Ha member who enjoys dance, acting, working in groups, and learning new drama skills. Outside of Lung Ha, Morgan’s work experience has been primarily with preschool children as a nursery schools assistant. Other interests include pop music culture, cinema, theatre, health and exercise.
Naomi Dickie / Bash (a patient)
Naomi was very excited to join Lung Ha in 2022. She loves singing and using her imagination for acting. When she was in primary school she performed in the opera Carmen in Tokyo. She is eager to be back on stage.
Nicola Tuxworth / Marie (a patient)
Nicky has had some incredible experiences since joining Lung Ha in 2007, including performing at the Edinburgh Festival twice, touring internationally, and working with NTS. Nicky recently directed a play online, The Bus Stop by Gavin Yule. Nicky enjoys dancing, Kuk Sool Won, crafting, writing and has two jobs she greatly enjoys.
Paul Harper / Mitchel (State Enrolled Nurse)
Paul Harper has been an actor with Lung Ha since 2017. Acting is a big part of his life, and he loves theatre and being on stage. Paul says that he doesn’t get nervous and becomes who he needs to be when on stage. Theatre is in Paul’s blood.
