“Bluebird” is a new, original, full cast mystery/thriller audio drama series by London-based Minimum Labyrinth, the creative partnership of Robert Kingham and Rich Cochrane.
Bluebird – An Original Audio Drama From Minimum Labyrinth
“I’ve lost all sense of space and time”
Minimum Labyrinth have produced a steady and astonishing stream of creative output since 2009. Robert (check out my talk with him about Pagan London!) and Rich offer coach trips (like the upcoming trip to Rendlesham), books, documentary films, audiobooks, theatre productions, and (most famously) London walks, weaving history, philosophy and literature with street theatre.
Bluebird
And now they wrote and edited an audioplay: “Bluebird”. It was produced and directed by Robert, all of the music was made by Rich. The audioplay was funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign. And the result is extraordinary.
“The demons in our mind are the most powerful demons we know”
What is “Bluebird” about? Well, if you know Minimum Labyrinth and their fondness for all things weird, British, extraterrestrial and psychogeography, you will not be surprised to learn that “Bluebird” is the story of a university lecturer and his PhD student on a research trip to a remote village in England to write about its dark history.
Of course, this is just the surface. The six and a half hour long play is divided into ten episodes. The main protagonist is B.F. Schultz, brilliantly voiced by Lizzie Wofford, student of the writer Dr Pelagiusz ‘Pal’ Malecki. She is the narrator and tells the story of their visit to the English village Renslow, where they come across some weird incidents from the past and the present: A burglar shot dead, a tragedy on the train tracks and a hospital that is connected to psychological experiments from the Cold War.
The whole play has been described as a fantastic mix of “Twin Peaks”, British rural hauntology, “The X Files” and contemporary true crime. And this sums it up perfectly. The brilliantly written play has violence, sex, murder, drug tips and deals with deep psychological themes. “Bluebird” is absolutely thrilling and you cannot stop listening. That is not only because of the story with its underlying suspense, it is also because of the weird inhabitants of Renslow and their odd behaviour.
“You can’t judge someone in the past with your knowledge from the future”
These weird characters are brought to live by the wonderful cast. It combines experienced actors (with “The Archers”, “Eastenders” and “Coronation Street” to their credits), young talents and some veteran Minimum Labyrinth collaborators. The audioplay stars Mark Oosterveen, Will Henry, John Vernon, Isabella Adamec, Rebecca Crankshaw, Phil O’Donnell, Rebecca Barry, Massimo Martella, Alasdair Mackenzie, Cerise Angela and Craig Whitney (many of them as several characters).
The star in a shining cast is Lizzie Wofford as B.F. Schultz, who transports not only the story, but also B.F.’s inner thoughts and feelings so vividly, that you want to meet the PhD student for a long stroll through the countryside and a pint at the Renslow Hotel at the end.
Another important feature that should be pointed out is Rich Cochrane’s atmospheric music that takes the listener to Renslow and all the strange things going on there.
Where can I listen to “Bluebird”?
The series has been distributed via Findaway Voices to reach a global network of 40+ retail and library channels including Authors Direct, Apple, Google, Scribd, Chirp, Hoopla and Bibliotheca.
You will be hooked by Minimum Labyrinth’s audioplay “Bluebird”. I’d love to see the film or TV show version.
Save the date! Trip to Rendlesham on Tuesday 28 December 2021
You can join Minimum Labyrinth on a day trip from London to Rendlesham Forest in Suffolk by luxury coach on Tuesday 28 December 2021. Explore the 1980 UFO incident, with audio commentary, pub lunch and guided tour by master storytellers Minimum Labyrinth. Full Covid safety in place.
