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What's going on?
Hi, my name is Mike Russell, and I'm the author of a radio play, "The Lobby", which is set in a failing academic institution in downtown Budapest in the 90's.
"The Lobby" project has three phases:
- Phase 1 - Record the radio play in London in July 2026.
- Phase 2 - Explore commissioning possibilities for the radio version with major platforms including BBC Radio 4, Audible UK, Spotify, Wireless Theatre Company, Bafflegab Productions, Sweet Talk Productions, Just Radio, Whistledown Studios, Curtains for Radio, DLT Entertainment Audio, Audio Always, Long Cat Media, Audio Factory.
- Phase 3 - Develop discussions on a stage version of "The Lobby."
For Phase 1 (recording "The Lobby"), we're looking to raise EUR 15000.
Please... read on.
>>> Click here to follow The Lobby on Instagram
Funding
It's been a lot of fun writing The Lobby, developing the script with the producer and friend Matthew James, holding a couple of table-readings to further tune the dialogue, revise scenes, and verify that the laughs in our heads translate into the laughs of others.
To be able to record the play in a professional recording studio with a full cast of experienced actors - raising funds for Phase 1 is critical.
Before humbly asking for your help in the form of a donation, we invite you to review the story so far. Hopefully, this is a story you can relate to, find amusing, or perhaps you are simply a die-hard lover of the arts.
It may also be the case that, like me, you are an academic in a university and can relate to the characters, their situation, and their desperation.
Storyline
Set in a crumbling academic institution in Budapest, The Lobby depicts a web of professional rivalry and personal deception as a faculty awaits a high-stakes visit from MIT. The narrative follows Anna, a seemingly lowly administrator who uses her access to private correspondence and office gossip to manipulate the fates of the bickering professors. While the pompous Dr. Hancu and the arrogant Dr. Török jockey for the departmental Chair, it is revealed that Anna is actually the daughter of the influential Minister Boross. Through a series of calculated backroom deals, the hierarchy is completely dismantled, resulting in the Minister and his fiancée, Dr. Varga, seizing control of the department. Ultimately, the story serves as a sharp satire on academic nepotism, where career advancement is determined by secret alliances rather than scholarly merit.
Here's are first production meeting (<-- Mike Russell, Matthew James -->:
Our recent table-read in the Jordaan, Amsterdam:
(Thanks Peter, Andrew, Colm, Lucas, Becky, Eva, and Christiana).
Is AI our friend? - not sure
We've tried to capture the spirit of "The Lobby" by generating some AI images. Mixed results to be honest, as the AI seemed to have it's own ideas about what the characters looked like, the number of members of the cast and, strangely, how many arms they have. Anyway, perhaps the following offers some sense of the tangled web in which characters in The Lobby find themselves.
Does anyone think this radio play is any good?
That is the question. The script has been shared with actors and industry professionals and this is what they think:
- Jason Langley – Director (Credits include War Horse, Hedda Gabler , Oslo, Casualty, Doctors): “It’s a brilliant script… very witty and entertaining… in the realm of Kafka and Ionesco - rooted in reality but tipping into absurdism… Metamorphosis meets Yes, Minister, with the tone of The Death of Stalin and a touch of 1984… balancing the heightened comedy with the characters’ genuine human experience.”
- Helen Cotterill – Playing Dr. Varga (Credits include Holby City, East Enders, Les Misérables, Run for Your Wife): “The Lobby demands several readings… extremely witty and rather Stoppardian (if there is now such a word)… I would love to be a part of it.”
- Graham James – Playing Professor Papp (Credits include On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Run for Your Wife, The Secret Life of Cartoons, Granada Television anchor): “The Lobby is very smart and very, very funny.”
- Caroline Jackson - Actress (Understudy for Dr. Varga): “There’s logic… and then there’s craft - I have to have this line!”
- Fraser Bailey - Writer & journalist: “An entertaining and lively satire of academia and govt funding. Some cracking lines. The mechanics are all very accomplished and it's good to read something set in Budapest.”
- Matthew James – Producer of The Lobby: “The Lobby had me laughing out loud before the end of Act 1. An astonishing first play from Mike. Let’s make it happen!”
- Andy Papadopoulos - Writer / Producer / Director (D.G.A / Directors U.K.): "Read The Lobby and love it - A fun, funny and ferocious farce - Can't wait to hear it on air and / or see it on stage."
What will the fund-raising be used for?
Here's an overview of the main costs for Phase 1:
- Rental of a professional recording studio.
- Hiring of a sound-technician for the recording sessions.
- Access to SFX libraries and an editing suite.
- Post-production.
- A director.
- Cast member cost coverage.
- Other operating expenses.
Funds raised in excess of what is needed for Phase 1, will be allocated to later Phases.
What's in it for you if you donate?
Another good question that we've been puzzling over for a while. We've come up with the following so far but are open to suggestions:
- You'll feel great and, yes, we'll feel great.
- You'll be helping get a new radio play made.
- You'll be invited to a pre-live online launch.
- You'll be invited to a meet the cast in online call.
- We'll send you regular updates (opt in) regarding progress.
- Your name will be listed as a contributor.
- Our thanks will follow you for the rest of your days.
For contributions above EUR 400, we're putting together a Founding Sponsor package linked to successfully completing Phase 3 - a stage production. This package will include:
- All of the above, of course, and...
- A copy of the script signed by the author and cast.
- Two tickets to a show.
- An opportunity to meet cast members.
- An online Q/A with the production team.
- Your name (and/or company name) listed a Founding Sponsor in the program.
Scan to follow The Lobby on Instagram: @THE_LOBBY_RADIO_PLAY
Organizer
Mike Russell
Organizer