In the late 1960s, Marx (aged 8) is sent away for a ten-year stretch that begins at an all-boy preparatory boarding school in the distant peak district. What prompted his mother - ignorant of any institutional malevolence - to abandon the child she dotes on into the care of people she knows nothing about?
Mummified by the experience, he careens through life causing havoc and damage to those who care for him, and equally to himself. Sobering up is just the beginning, and the yearned-for journey back home is long, arduous and not guaranteed.
To get back, he requires acts of providence coming from loving sources, a deeper understanding of the roots of trauma and, most painfully, a joker to help him lighten up a little!
'Mummified' was premiered as a work-in-progress at the Brighton Fringe 2025. Two sold-out shows at the Fringe have inspired the development of this production: an expanded 4-Act version of the play.
The central premise remains unaltered. What has been added is a deeper enquiry into the roots of trauma. The play now confronts the foundational issue that impacts all members of the human race, it would seem: inter-generational trauma.
This event runs for 2h 30 mins including a 20 minute interval.
