Teaching Pack Written by Murray Lachlan Young
Teaching Pack Aims • To fire young people’s imaginations • To instil a love of language • To encourage creative storytelling • To engage young people in the creative process of making The Chronicles of Atom and Luna
• I can predict what might happen from details that are implied in the text.
Reading outcomes:
Throughout 2022 and 2023 we will continue developing more Chronicles and we would love for ideas from your class to help steer and inspire us. As you move through the scheme of work you will see some of the worksheets have a and we would love it if you would send us a sample of those completed worksheets to inspire us! You’ll also find in the pack some requests for information and feedback, this is because we are working in partnership with the University of Essex on an Impact Study and your feedback will feed into that study. Of course if you have any questions or queries we would love to hear from you. You can drop us a line
Andfunnelwicklimb@gmail.comatonceagainTHANKYOU for taking part! Murray, Nina and Matthew and all at Funnelwick Limb Find additional resources, information and links to the videos you will need in the teachers’ section of our website at funnelwicklimb.com/schools.
Writing outcomes:
• I can use adverbials of time to aid cohesion in recipe writing.
• I can develop an appropriate setting for a character.
The lessons to accompany The Chronicles of Atom and Luna have been designed in line with the 2014 National Curriculum for English. The lessons are most appropriate for Year 4 and 5 pupils although could be adapted to be used across any KS2 year.
National Curriculum Outcomes
• To use ambitious vocabulary as a stimulus for creative writing.
Welcome From Funnelwick Limb
• I can use different techniques to describe a setting.
ThankHello!you so much for taking part in our schools programme which accompanies The Chronicles of Atom and Luna. It’s great to have you and your class join us and we look forward to welcoming you to a performance near Asideyou!from the introductory session all the sessions can be used before or after a performance. The sessions use video, AR and other materials to follow our creative process in making the performance.
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• To perform poetry with appropriate expression and intonation.
• I can use expanded noun phrases to describe a character.
• To understand the meaning of new words in a context.
Who are the team behind Atom and Luna?
The story is written by poet, writer and broadcaster Murray Lachlan Young. The project is being creatively directed by Nina Hajiyianni. Nina is Artistic Director of Theatre Porto (formally Action Transport Theatre). Theatre Porto work with children and young people as creative collaborators, to make professional and aspirational theatre which they share locally, regionally, nationally and internationally from their home in Ellesmere Port. Our educational resources and this scheme of work have been developed with Emily Smith. Emily is a culture whizz, an Irish dancer, a regular pantomime actress and Assistant Head at Brightlingsea Primary School and Nursery. For more about other team members see the biography section at the back of this workbook.
The Chronicles of Atom & Luna FAQ
What is The Chronicles of Atom and Luna?
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The Chronicles of Atom and Luna is the second project by the team behind The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps, Funnelwick Limb (see our biography at the end of this work for more about the company). It is the story of twins, Atom and Luna. The twins never break any rules and never, ever go into the deep dark wood. But these are no ordinary twins. Trouble is, only the birds and the moon know just how special they are… When life takes an unexpected turn all rules are turned upside down. Atom and Luna must venture into the deep, dark wood to find Old Mother Redbeard and to save their larger than life visitor, Iffly Sney. And so begins a journey, deep into the heart of the forest, which will change their lives forever.
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How is the story of Atom and Luna told?
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• Nature – and a return to its wisdom. The show encourages audiences to reconnect with nature just as Atom and Luna do in the story.
. Thanks to Covid19 our digital strands came first – a series of six audio tales and an AR animation. The AR allows the player to go ahead of Atom and Luna and journey through the magical forest to find Old Mother Redbeard, and relates closely to this scheme of work. The audio tales are all mini stories which explore particular elements of the forest that Atom and Luna must explore.
The story takes place in a magical world which is like ours, but it’s also one that is clearly mythical and fantastic. The children often find themselves in danger and have to overcome various challenges to survive. Animals within the story are larger than life and communicate with the children. Onecharacter transforms into a wolf and there is a final dramatic battle between the forces of good and Ultimatelyevil.Atom and Luna succeed, and in the process discover more about who they are and where they have come from.
• The agency of children - our director, Nina, says our story is about children coming into their own, and being the heroes of their story. It’s also about working together – Atom & Luna have to play to their strengths to succeed.
What are the performance’s key themes? The story is about
At Funnelwick Limb, we are interested in telling stories in many different ways – as live performances, across digital platforms (family friendly VR and AR games for example) audio content and traditional Andbooks.that’s exactly what we are doing with Atom and Luna
We tell the story in a playfull and thrilling way. A cast of four use words, movement, puppetry, imagery and music to bring to life Atom and Luna’s adventure.
• Emotional and personal growth – this is Atom and Luna’s coming of age story.
You can choose whether to include the 6 audio tales in your programme of work. All 6 are available now as sound files on spotify, or as video files semi animated with BSL and captions on our website and on you tube. Tell us about the live show. The live show tells the story of Atom and Luna. It is a fable or fairy tale and is not based on any true story. It draws on classic fairy tales (like Hansel and Gretel for example) but also nods to more contemporary mythical stories for young people like Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings or His Dark Materials
• Family and resolution – it’s a story about children surviving, then thriving, as first their family breaks up and later, they discover secrets about who exactly their family are.
Are there any digital elements in the Noshow?–the show is a live performance Do my pupils need to have played the AR and listened to all 6 audio tales before they see the performance?
We would recommend familiarising yourself with the content of Session 5 before presenting to pupils, as the plot at this point may be of a sensitive nature to some individuals. The sequence of lessons has been designed so that this lesson can be omitted if need be. You will find digital versions of this pack, additional resources, information and links to the videos you need in the teacher’s section of our website at funnelwicklimb.com/ schools. Do also sign up to our newsletter at funnelwicklimb.com to keep up to date with the project’s progress.
No – all our digital content provides added detail. You can come to the performance having watched / played all of the digital content, some of it or none of it at all! Each feeds into each other but each element are designed to be stand alone.
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Are there any content warnings we need to know about?
A note on Session 5
• The performance opens with the children’s mother leaving unexpectedly. They do not know if or when she will return. Later they meet another woman who claims to be their mother.
• The story closes with the children saying goodbye to their father, who they know will always be with them but who they will never see again in his current form. In telling the story on stage we do use haze, smoke, stage lighting, sound (including some loud sound effects and music) and occasional flashing lights. Nearer the opening of the show, we will post full details of these elements
• The children do face danger at several moments in the story/performance.
Before you start this scheme of work, you might want to introduce your class to some of the children’s poems by Murray Lachlan Young. Murray’s work for children online includes:
• Search: ‘Annie McClue’ Search: ’Fartin’ Martin’
•
• Search: ‘Lycra Dad’ (content warnings) All three pieces make for great fun ‘choral speaking’ projects – search ‘Annie McClue Choral Speaking’ for an example.
Our previous project – The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps
The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps also came with its own education resources and activities, which you may find useful (either as an introduction or to expand the work contained within this work flow). Exercise one of the Raddlesham Suite you might find particularly useful as it introduces pupils to ‘thinking creatively outside the box’. Where to find these educational resources: The digital worksheets can be found at www.mbd.limited/education (or paper copies are available on request from funnelwicklimb).
Preparatory Exercises
You can listen to the whole of The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps on Soundcloud (search Soundcloud “Raddlesham Mumps”) and pupils can play the tablet game which goes with the story on Android devices (go to Google Play store and search “Raddlesham Mumps”). Find out more about poet Murray Lachlan Young At his website murraylachlanyoung.co.uk
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Objectives:
To introduce the idea of story telling in a game format
To introduce Atom and Luna
You Will Need School iPads with the free AR game Atom and Luna pre-downloaded on them (Head to Apple App Store, search Atom and Luna. If your iPad is AR enabled Quest for Old Mother Redbeard will appear as an option and you can download the game for free.
• We are going to be exploring the story of Atom and Luna over the next few weeks
This session is optional and is for teachers who are happy to demonstrate the AR to the class and who have access to school iPads. Alternatively for those schools who are having a visit from the member of the Funnelwick Limb the demonstration can be incorporated into that Learningsession.
• Ask the children if they think a story can be told through a game, computer or board game? Can the pupils think of a story they know which is told through a game.
• (At this point the class may like to watch either the AR trailer and/or the AR how to trailer which are available on our you tube page)
Lesson Content
• Support the children in playing Quest for Old Mother Redbeard
• Ask children to describe what they did, what they liked, what they found interesting.
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• Ask the pupils what formats stories can be told in (book, poetry, film, performance etc)
• Atom and Luna have a game which I would like us all to try now
• Poet Murray Lachlan Young has a secret mission for you, to help him with his next poem for children.
To understand the meaning of new words in context. To prepare a poem to perform with the correct expression and intonation.
Video 1: Introduction to the Synopsis Printed copies of the Atom and Luna synopsis and poetry Pupil activity sheet
• Watch Video 1 from The Chronicles of Atom and Luna.
• In order to perform the poem for Murray Lachlan Young, we will need to have a good understanding of the synopsis and the vocabulary that has been used. This will introduce us to the key characters, the setting and the audience. Discuss these things together.
• Children to work in small groups to devise a performance of a portion of the poem.
• Bring children together to perform the whole synopsis with different groups performing each section.
You Will Need:
LessonDictionariesContent:
• Pupils to explore the meaning of some of these words using the pupil activity sheets and feed back to the rest of the class. Put the vocabulary back into the context of the poem and reread, clarifying the meaning of these key words as moving through the text.
• Discuss performance techniques for poetry and how the poem can be enhanced with techniques such as sound effects, repetition, facial expressions and movement.
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• Pupils to read the synopsis in pairs, underlining/highlighting any words that are unfamiliar to them. Discuss the vocabulary that the children have underlined. Could we deduce the meaning of any of these words from their context? How else could we find the definitions of these words? Recap dictionary work.
Learning Objectives:
– What would you do if you were stuck at home?
Pupil activity sheet Lesson Content: • Recap the synopsis from last lesson and the definitions of the words learned.
– What was the greatest moment in your life?
You Will Need: Video 2: Hot Seating Atom and Luna Display resources of Atom/Luna
– What is Atom’s relationship with Luna like?
– What type of clothes do you like to wear?
• Watch Video 2 of The Chronicles of Atom and Luna.
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Learning Objectives:
– What is a secret that Luna doesn’t know about Atom?
• Perform hot-seating task with pupils as Atom/Luna. Use the questions from the video as a starting point but encourage children to ask questions of their own which will help them to know the characters better.
• Today’s lesson is focused on the characters in the synopsis, specifically the heroes of the story, Atom and Luna. What do we know about them already?
• Challenge children by encouraging them to use alliteration in their expanded noun phrases and to use similes and metaphors to strengthen the images.
– What activities do you like to do when you’re not at school?
– What is your favourite possession?
I can use expanded noun phrases to describe a character.
• Once pupils have grown their understanding of the characters, ask pupils to complete the character profile for either Atom or Luna. Scaffolding can be provided by displaying some of the questions from the hot seating task and providing some children with the visual resources of Atom and Luna.
• Pupils to design their own maps of the forest where Mother Redbeard lives, using a map key to identify specific places within the forest. Challenge children to include a set number of locations on their maps.
• You might choose to print some examples of fictional maps to support children with this task.
You Will Need: Video 3: The map through the forest Variety of local OS maps, or other maps
Pupil activity sheet Lesson Content: • Articulate to children that creating a story has several elements to it – mainly character, setting and story line. Last lesson focused on the character element and today we will move on to looking at the setting. The setting of a story can also help add to the story line/plot.
• Opportunities for cross-curricular learning: – Play games using the coordinates on pupils’ drawn grid maps to reinforce Maths Shape and Space knowledge.
Learning Objectives:
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• What other landmarks might there be in the forest? Try to encourage story-like place names with some use of alliteration eg Cannibal Cove, The Copper Mountains, Skull Swamp, The Ruins of Rigamar etc.
• Provide children with a selection of different OS maps for their local area. How do we know where places are? Discuss how a map key or legend is included with a map to unlock it - it gives you the information needed for the map to make sense. In small groups, children to come up with some symbols that may be needed on the map of the forest where Mother Redbeard lives.
• Watch video 3 of The Chronicles of Atom and Luna. Emphasise that the only information we have is that we need to design a map that takes us to Old Mother Redbeard’s home which we know is in the forest.
I can develop an appropriate setting for a character.
Learning Objectives: I can use different techniques to describe a setting. You Will Need: Video 4: What do I hear in the forest? Paint/felt tips/collage materials
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SpeechGlueScissorsbubbles from pupil resource sheet Lesson Content: • Ask children to share their maps from last lesson with each other. Identify strengths in each other’s maps – what do you like about your partner’s map? Using 5 words, how could your partner improve their map?
• Children to create an image of the forest that Atom and Luna find themselves in. This could involve use of paints, pencils, felt tips or collage. Put a forest soundscape on for children to listen to in the background whilst working (there are several examples on You Tube).
• Once the images are complete, return as a class and watch Video 4 of The Chronicles of Atom and Luna. Role play the characters’ responses to different sounds by listening to the forest soundscape and moving accordingly.
• Imagine you are in the forest with Atom and Luna. How would the forest make you feel? What might you be able to see? How would you move through the forest?
• Children to use the stimulus to record sounds that Atom and Luna might hear in the forest, using onomatopoeia where possible. Record the sounds on the bubbles on the pupil resource sheet. Once artwork is dry, these sounds can be stuck onto the images. Pupils might like some sounds to ‘pop’ out of the image by creating ‘paper springs’.
• Discuss how use of colour can change the atmosphere of the forest – darker colours will make it appear more sinister whereas lighter colours will help it to feel more exciting. Compare different images of fictional forests eg Disney’s Snow White in the forest where the branches look like hands, Into the Forest by Anthony Brown with characters in the tree bark, the playful feel of The Forgotten Forest by Victoria Richards etc.
NB: Please familiarise yourself with the content of this lesson before presenting to pupils, as the plot at this point may be of a sensitive nature to some individuals. The sequence of lessons have been designed that this lesson can be omitted if need be.
You Will Need: Video 5: Who is my Mother? Pupil resource sheet Coloured pencils Lesson Content:
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• On the board, create two lists: questions and challenges. In groups of 4, pupils come up with 3 questions and 3 challenges that the twins could ask the women to do, to work out which one is their “real” mum. Encourage children to be creative here.
Learning Objectives: I can predict what might happen from details that are implied in the text.
• Recap the fantastic language that will have been developed during the last session. Which element of story planning did we focus on for the last two sessions? Setting. Today we will be moving on to looking at story lines and plot structure.
• Watch video 5 of The Chronicles of Atom and Luna.
• Each group to take one question or challenge and act out how the story might continue from this point – predict what might happen after the question or challenge has been set.
• Come back together as a class and list the ideas children have come up with. Discuss the strengths in some of the questions/challenges as they are recorded on the board.
• Pupils to choose their favourite idea (this may or may not be the one they acted out) and create a comic strip to show how the story progresses. Include speech bubbles to show the exchanges between the women and the twins.
13 funnelwicklimb.com/schools Session 6 Learning Objectives: I can use adverbials of time to aid cohesion within recipe writing. You Will Need: Video 6: What is that smell? Pupil resource sheet Lesson Content: • Watch video 6 of The Chronicles of Atom and Luna • What is the purpose of a recipe? Discuss types of recipes that children have seen before –what audience have they been aimed at? • What features need to be included when writing a recipe? – Ingredients in a list with quantities – Numbered bullets for the method – Fronted adverbials of time to help order the instructions – Imperative verbs eg cut, wash, stir etc – Adverbs to alter the verb eg slowly, gently, violently etc • Discuss with children what the spell might be for – list suggestions on the board and begin to develop them together. • What ingredients might be included in the spell recipe that Mother Redbeard makes? Encourage children to refer back to their maps of the forest so they know the sort of ingredients that Mother Redbeard would have access to. • Reflect on the purpose of fronted adverbials in a recipe – to aid cohesion in the text. It is important that each step of the recipe is expanded to warrant use of these adverbials. Aim for two/three sentences for each step. Only one instruction should be given, but another sentence could give the reason for this or an idea of how long to do this for. Eg: Firstly, warm your large cooking pot to 116ºc to enable the ingredients to come to the boil once they are added. This step is vital to ensuring the spell reaches the correct temperature in the given time. Congratulations You have now completed the scheme of work!
1. Send a story to a friend! In your packs you will find enough postcards for your class. Each postcard has a QR link to one of the Atom and Luna stories, so its not just a post card but also a story card. Invite your children to ‘write a postcard’ to a friend or family member about the work they have been doing on Atom and Luna 2. Story Trails In your packs you will find 2 x story trails, complete with instructions. Divide your group in to two. Ask each group to locate each story card (this could be in class, in the hall or even better in the playing fields). Once they have done this they must draw a map of where the story is hidden. A teacher / teaching assistant / class guest must then(with the help of the children and their map)find the story in the right order! Two follow up exercises: Listen to The Great Oak together in class Encourage the children to write and make their own story trails 3. Seed Cards In your packs there are enough seed cards for each pupil. Each card contains an activity to be done at home. Once done the cards can be planted and the children can see what grows! How do to: Funnelwick Limb Ltd, Studio 118, 37 Queen Street, Colchester CO1 2PQ place to info@funnelwicklimb. com. are willing for Tag on posts using the tag #AtomLuna @FunnelwickLimb
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we share our work? Send hard copies of a selection of your worksheets
us
us to publish/share.
Please only send photographs you
And Finally – three fun exercises for your class
your own social media
Send photographs of displays and of the activities taking
About
Atom and Luna’s Creative Designer. Bek designed The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps and has also designed shows for our partners Eastern Angles and Action Transport Theatre. Bek has worked as a Theatre Designer since graduating from LIPA in 2001. She later studied Post Graduate Theatre Design at Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and since then has been based in SheLondon.works across all forms of theatre, from drama for young audiences to installation art. She has a special interest in puppetry and works as a designer and maker of puppets and specialist Recentprops. work includes Waiting for Godot (London
Murray Lachlan Young Murray Lachlan Young is a British poet, stand-up performer, broadcaster, playwright, screenwriter and children’s author. He came to prominence during the Brit Pop era of the mid 1990’s, when he became the only poet to sign a contract worth His£1m.work echoes the great rhymers Edward Lear, Lewis Carroll and Gilbert and Sullivan, along with more alternative influences such as Grandmaster Flash, Tom Waits and Ian Drury. His satirical commentaries can read like RD Laing in their philosophical intensi-ty, whilst their subjects range from the vanities of celebrity and middle-class angst, to highlighting the absurdities of modern life.
A regular contributor to the BBC he is also often found touring the UK with his solo stand-up shows and the collection of his work How Freakin’ Zeitgeist are you?, published by Unbound books.
Nina NinaDirectorHajiyianniandDramaturgistheCreativeDirector for Funnelwick Limb and previously directed The Mystery of Raddlesham Mumps, written by Murray and produced by Matthew. For The Chronicles of Atom and Luna Nina will continue her strong creative relationship with Us / Credits
Murray as both director and dramaturg (having led on the previous R&D and digiral development).
15 funnelwicklimb.com/schools Funnelwick Limb Ltd Funnelwick Limb Ltd grew out of the success of The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps. 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.
Nina is one of the UK’s leading theatre directors for families and young people, and is Artistic Director of Theatre Porto (previously Action Transport Theatre) based in Ellesmere Port. For Theatre Porto, she has recently been leading a multi million capital reinvention of their building, now transformed into a state of the art theatre and cultural centre for children and young people, In fact, Atom and Luna will be the first live public performances in the new venue Nina has also recently directed Baba Yaga by Laura Lindow, for Theatre Porto and Theatre Hullabaloo – touring autumn 2023. Other work for Theatre Porto includes Adrift, Statik and the ground breaking Happily Ever After, a primary school show in which two princes fall in love and marry. She has directed 7 seasonal shows for ATT and Unity Theatre, including the acclaimed Little Red and the Big Bad Wolf (2016) which was revived as the Christmas show for Z arts (Manchester) and The Brewery (Kendall) in 2017 before touring nationally in 2018. The show will be remounted again for audiences in Ipswich and Peterborough in 2022/3. Nina regularly supports theatre makers and artists in creating new work for young audiences, she is a former chair of TYAUK (2011-17) and is an Honorary Member of ASSITEJ International.BekPalmerBekis
AR and Composer Paul PerformanceHartnollComposer and Design
Principal funder Arts Council England
Podcast
The project has also been financially supported by Colchester Borough Council, Colchester BID, Colchester Borough Homes and SECADS
Classic Theatre), My Mother Told Me Not to Stare (Theatre Hullabaloo and Action Transport Theatre) and Luna (Theatre Iolo and Theatre Hullabaloo).
Sound
The evaluation of the education programme has been supported by the University of Essex and ROH Bridge
Alongside The Chronicles of Atom and Luna current work includes Little Red (for Eastern Angles and Theatre Porto) and a new work from Anders Lustgarten in co production with Riksteatern matthewlinley.co.uk(Sweden).
The Quest for Old Mother Redbeard (the AR game) was commissioned and funded by The Space
Written and Conceived by Murray Lachlan Young Project Direction Nina MBDProjectBekProjectHajiyianniDesignerPalmerDigitalAnimationLtd
MBD Ltd MBD bring stories to life by blending art and technology. They create immersive and emotive experiences, telling compelling stories from our past and present to create a brighter future. MBD is a Leicester based arts organisation, founded in 1997. Our team produces high quality arts experiences with a focus on stunning visuals, beautiful storytelling and the use of cutting-edge Wetechnology.aredriven by a need to share experiences, stories, sounds and pictures with the world in new and engaging ways. We are inquisitive, curious and experimental by nature. We are always striving to develop our art and our skills. In the last 12 months, MBD has been nominated for a Digital Catapult Platinum award - marking us out as one of the 24 most influential immersive media companies in the UK. Our work has also been recognised by MBD’s inclusion in the Creative Industries Council’s 100 To Watch list for 2020.
BSL EducationKateInterpreterLabnoResources and Advisor Emily EmmaMarketingSmithMartin Arts Marketing with Rebecca Pitt and Warehouse Digital Creative MatthewProducerLinley
On top of all this, we are proudly part of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio, recognising the love and commitment to the arts that has been at the very core of our organisation since we began our journey in www.mbd.limited1997.MatthewLinleyMatthewLinleyisacreative producer and freelance arts manager. Recent work includes The Ballad of Maria Marten (with Eastern Angles), The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps (for Funnelwick Limb) and the UK tour of Nina a story about me and Nina Simone (with Unity Theatre / Riksteatern).
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He was Interim Administration Director and Capital Projects Manager for New Wolsey Theatre through lockdown. He is the former Artistic Director and CEO of Unity Theatre, Liverpool and a former General Manager for Eastern Angles. He has also led venues in Leicester (Phoenix Arts), Reading (21 South Street) and Bath (Michael Tippett Centre).
Chris Warner R&D Actors and Devisers Simone Lewis and Joe Allen Live Show Cast Becca Bindang, Fran Burgoyne, Farrell Cox and Alex Scott Fairley
17 funnelwicklimb.com/schools is produced in association www.funnelwicklimb.comwithCo-commissioningpartnersPrincipalfunderTheAR Quest for Old Mother Redbeard commissioned and funded by was made by Education Programme supported by Additional Project Funders
