Clive Nolan: "This is a hard announcement to make, so I will try and be direct. The director of my recent musical shows and my friend Ian Baldwin is extremely ill. This will, at best, be his toughest battle!
Some time ago before he ended up in hospital, when we were all blissfully unaware of the state of his health, Ian and I agreed that all the work that went into the debut stage performance of ‘King’s Ransom’ really deserved more than one performance.
I feel it’s time to make good on that, so I contacted all the cast and crew involved in the recent shows and asked if they would get involved. I received a unanimous ‘YES’… so we are going to do it!
‘King’s Ransom’ will be performed again, according to Ian’s vision of the show, at the Cheltenham Playhouse on Saturday September 8th. We will do this raise money for a plaque, which will become a permanent fixture in the Playhouse Theatre, and any more money raised will go to the Sue Ryder Hospice, which has been so important to Ian in recent weeks. Everyone is working for nothing so, beyond expenses, we hope to raise a decent amount of money.
September 2018 may seem rather a long way away under the circumstances, but it was the earliest date we could pull all the elements together. Whatever the circumstances this show will happen… for Ian.

Why am I telling you this… simple… I want to invite you all to come and see the show next year. If you’ve been before, then please consider coming again. If you didn’t make it this year, then come along and see it. We are doing this to celebrate our friend and our director Ian Baldwin. Please join us. We will perform ‘King’s Ransom’, and there will hopefully be a few surprise extras that evening."

Clive Nolan's third musical, “King's Ransom”, is now officially released! A special box set edition consists of 3 CDs and a DVD: Act 1, Act 2, bonus CD and "Making of" DVD documentary plus 3 booklets with lyrics, additional information and inspiring artwork by the comic novel artist, Mark Buckingham.
"King's Ransom" is available through our online store: shop.caamora.net

Clive Nolan: "With over three years in the making, I am very pleased, relieved and proud to have completed this musical. This album features some great singers and performances… don’t miss it!"

Clive Nolan: "And so the deal is made! ‘The Fire and the Quest 2’ is over and what a weekend it was. ‘Alchemy’, ‘King’s Ransom’, an acoustic show, the secrets of the séance and some after parties! I offer a massive thanks to all the wonderful people who took part in this rather ambitious experience. There was an amazing feeling of warmth and enthusiasm from cast to crew to audience… a truly unique event!

It wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for the tremendous efforts of Mark Westwood on sound, assisted by the calming influence of Alexander White… Alec Morris on those inspired lights… Dylan Thomas stage manager and all right good egg… Iain David Richardson master props man! Thanks again to Magdalena Grabias for selling all that merchandise, and Fernando Gomez for helping to keep all the customers happy… and seated!

We will be able to enjoy this weekend again in the future thanks to the excellent video talents of Neil Monaghan, John Vis and Meriam Verkleij, as well as terrific photography from Neil Palfreyman.

For all those who were working in the theatre, there were those who sweated blood and tears behind the scenes… Stig Andre Clason and his work on both the programme and the ‘King’s Ransom’ CD box set…. Natalie Barnett and Caron Morgan for all the wonderful costumes, and their scenery building… Ian Baldwin for designing the ‘King’s Ransom’ scenery… Ross Andrews and Ian Baldwin for painting the scenery… Patric Toms and Sian Roberts for all their driving… Ross Andrews for his Chorus Master duties… Mark Buckingham for his fantastic artwork... Claudio Momberg for keeping the web sites intact… and of course, Magdalena Grabias for all her mountains of working, compiling the programme material, keeping the websites up to date, and just generally bossing me around…;)

Clive Nolan: "Great news, the ‘King’s Ransom’ CDs are here! The right music is on the disks and the pages are in the right order (you may laugh, but I have experienced some epic fails over the years)… in fact, the whole package looks (and sounds!) excellent… ;) It represents several years work, and I must admit to some pride in the finished result…. Featuring terrific performances from a ‘galaxy of stars’, along with marvelous artwork. The best one yet, I think!

Anyone coming to the ‘Fire and the Quest 2’ shows can pick up their order at the theatre. Apologies to everyone else, but I may not be able to send out the other orders until I’m back from these shows (beginning of the week of the 4th September)."

 Get your copy HERE

Since August 1st 2017 you can buy tickets for every show separately. The shows are part of "The Fire and the Quest 2" festival celebrating the musicals of Clive Nolan. All events will take plays at the Cheltenham Playhouse. The schedule is as follows:

September 1st at 7.30 p.m. "Alchemy" - full theatrical production directed by Ian Baldwin and featuring new cast members. (Price £20)

September 2nd at 1 p.m. "Beyond the Veil" - acoustic concert hosted by Clive Nolan and featuring live band and international guests. (Price £20)

September 2nd at 7.30 p.m. "King's Ransom" - the world premiere of Clive Nolan's third musical. Full theatrical production directed by Ian Baldwin. (Price £20)

On September 1st (after "Alchemy") you can also take part in "The Victorian Seance" during which Ross Andrews, a TV presenter specialising in ghosts and other paranormal phenomena, will take us through some of the tricks of the trade that the 19th century mediums used to 'perform' their communications with the spirit world. (Price £15)

Book your tickets HERE

The rehearsals for the world premiere of Clive Nolan's third musical, “King's Ransom”, are in full swing now. This first theatre production directed by Ian Baldwin and featuring the cast of 13 principals and 12 chorus members will take place on September 2nd at the Cheltenham Playhouse, on the second day of "The Fire and the Quest 2" festival celebrating the music of Clive Nolan.

Clive Nolan: "Rehearsals have been taking place for a while now. It presents a real challenge, piecing together a two hour show like “King’s Ransom”, and there is plenty of mountains to climb. The aims for this musical are higher than ever before, with a lot more emphasis on movement (I won’t say choreography), so in some ways there is so much more to take in! At this stage I can only say that it's looking better every rehearsal. Time to make the scenery I think!"

"King's Ransom", the third musical by Clive Nolan, is the next adventure of Professor King and his companions. Set in the Victorian 'Alchemy' universe, the musical is a tale steeped in political intrigue, high emotion and the all-pervasive presence of the supernatural.

Book, lyrics and music by Clive Nolan
With vocal talents of: Clive Nolan, Gemma Ashley, Guy Barnes, Verity White, Robbie Gardner, Chris Longman, Christina Booth, Alan Reed, Chris Lewis, Ross Andrews, Joy-Amy Wigman, Emily Frechter and the Caamora Chorus; and instrumentalists: Clive Nolan, Mark Westwood, Scott Higham, Kylan Amos, Penny Gee and Morten L. Clason.
Album artwork by Mark Buckingham.

Clive Nolan: "It has been several years in the making, but here it is… ‘King’s Ransom’ the musical. To me, this is a great testament to the wonderful singers and musicians I had the pleasure of working with, and a welcome return to the ‘Alchemy’ universe. With this special edition I have tried to provide added insight into the making of this musical which has been such a major part of my life for the last few years. If you like the music I make, then don’t miss out on this one!"

"King's Ransom" Special Edition includes:

CD 1: Act 1
CD 2: Act 2
CD 3: "There's More... Demos and Extras" (featuring original demos and alternative versions of songs from ‘King’s Ransom’)
DVD: "The Making of 'King's Ransom'" (featuring recording footage, interviews and more insights into the creation of the musical)

This pre-order also includes an additional exclusive "King's Ransom" Karaoke CD with backing tracks to selected songs with vocals from the chosen artists – choose your solo, or sing with one of the cast members! (Available with orders made before August 1st).

Intended release: late August 2017.

The cover for Clive Nolan's forthcoming “King's Ransom” CD has been now finalised. “King's Ransom” special box set, scheduled for release in August 2017, will include exclusive artwork designed by the acclaimed DC Comics artist, Mark Buckingham.

Clive Nolan: "The release of 'King’s Ransom' grows ever closer, and the show is really taking on an identity of its own. This will be an album of terrific vocal and instrumental performances with songs that I hope will stay with you long after the CD stops playing. The wonderful artwork for this musical has been created by Mark Buckingham, which I think gives the album a great atmosphere."

 More about Clive Nolan HERE

The year 2017 will see the CD release of Clive Nolan's new musical ‘King’s Ransom’, as well as the theatrical debut of the show in September. Just as exciting as this are the rumours that there might be a feature film version of both ‘Alchemy’ and ‘King’s Ransom’ some time in the future. This would be in collaboration with filmmaker Neil Monaghan. With this intention in mind, Neil is producing a small series of trailers for the upcoming ‘King’s Ransom’ release and performance.

Clive Nolan: "I'm happy to present "King's Ransom' video trailers! The first one features myslef as Professor King. We gave the second one the title of 'Jeopardy', and it features the characters Eva (Gemma Ashley), Josephine (Verity White), William (Guy Barnes), Roza (Natalie Barnett) and King (that's me again!) Each one of these trailers puts us an inch closer to that feature film plan. Hope you enjoy it!"

Don't forget that tickets are available for 'The Fire and the Quest' weekend, featuring the debut performance of 'King's Ransom'.

'Beyond the Veil 2', the acoustic part of 'The Fire and the Quest 2' festival devoted to Clive Nolan's music, will take place on September 2nd, 2017 at the Cheltenham Playhouse. The concert will feature Clive on keyboards and vocal and his guests from around the world, including the band: Mark Westwood (guitar), Scott Higham (drums) and Kylan Amos (bass), as well as the vocalists: Gabriel Agudo (Argentina), Lucia Cavallini (Uruguay), Elisabeth Syrdahl Ellingsen (Norway), Harriet Müller-Tyl (Norway), Laura Piazzai Epifani (Italy), Christna Booth, Paul Manzi, Andy Sears, Gemma Ashley, Chris Lewis, and Agnieszka Swita.

Clive Nolan: “In 2015 our special ‘Beyond the Veil’ acoustic show had a ‘ten year anniversary’ theme to it. Well, this year we are going ‘international’! We have a wonderful line up of singers from across the globe, and I am fascinated to see how various combinations will sound. I will also be welcoming back our musicians, Mark, Scott and Kylan to join me for some added dynamics. This will be a great show. Two years is also plenty of time to have gathered a whole new bag on anecdotes!"

Tickets for 'The Fire and the Quest 2' HERE