Unleash the Llama Productions
Unleash the Llama was founded in 2014 by Saul Boyer and Sam Rayner, with the goal of creating unique and ambitious comedy productions. Unleash the Llama were responsible for the hit 2014 Underbelly show Nougat for Kings (“hard to take your eyes off” - The Scotsman), the irreverent narrative comedy podcast: 'PanaMax' and the sketch show TüManz 2k18 which premiered at London's Leicester Square Theatre in January 2018. Prior to this, both founders cut their teeth as members of the Cambridge Footlights. Unleash The Llama are developing a number of projects for Edinburgh this year, including two-hander, 'Jew...ish' by Saul Boyer and Poppy Damon and One Man Show: 'The Beast or Never Ending Guilt' by Saul Boyer. Our writers Saul Boyer and Poppy Damon have won awards for their writing together (Shortlisted for The RSC/Other Prize, Papatango, Cannes Series ‘In Development’ Award) and have a number of shows in development.
We are a collective of theatre creatives with a diverse range of talents, who create ambitious theatre, TV and Radio comedy that address emerging socio-political themes through idiosyncratically imaginative storytelling, often with a darkly comic tone and a historical bent. We create comedy from the macabre to the farcical, writing shows about everything from a family reunion in Scotland, the lives of Frida Kahlo and Leon Trotsky, the awkwardness of the London underground to the fallout from a US caffeine heist in 1799. One of us works at BBC Radio 4, another attends L’Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris, another writes comedy podcasts, and two work at theatre companies. Our production team has worked on: CHUTNEY (BUNKER THEATRE), BRUTE (SOHO THEATRE), BUBBLE SCHMEISIS (EDINBURGH FRINGE)
POPPY DAMON - Writer /AD is a playwright, author and BBC journalist based in London. Whilst studying history at Cambridge University, she co-wrote a play with Saul Boyer called ‘Broken Glass’ and it won the runner up in the RSC/Other Prize. Their next play about the life of Frida Kahlo and Leon Trotsky was long listed for the Papatango playwriting competition in 2017. They then wrote Jew..ish as a TV pilot and submitted it to the Cannes Series award where it was shortlisted. Poppy took her play ‘Mind the Gap’ to the 2015 Edinburgh Fringe. As a BBC journalist she works on Radio 4 news programmes as a reporter. She also produces Blood Ties, a true crime podcast. In addition her podcast 'Murderabilia' is expected to be published on Amazon's Audible in summer 2019. Poppy grew up in Western Australia, and as a teenager won the Tim Winton Young Writers award for her short story ‘The Untouchable’ which was published in Hatched, a collection of short stories. She was also selected for the Fremantle Young Writers Scheme while still at school, and here she was mentored by writers like Marcus Zuzac and Isobelle Carmody.
Saul Boyer - Writer/Performer is an actor, comedian and award-winning writer (RSC-Marlowe Other Prize 2014), educated at ArtsEd and Cambridge University. He is represented by Savages Personal Management. Saul has recently performed in ‘Alone’ by Moray Hunter (Radio 4) and his sketch show TüManz Tük18 (Leicester Square Theatre). Recent film credits include Charles Griffin in Charles Griffin (Dwarfstar Visuals) and ‘Always Remember You’, a music video for Loco Ironico. Recent credits include, Larry in Gala Mae Matchstick Prods, Baloo in Immersion Theatre’s The Jungle Book, Rupert Henztau in The Prisoner of Zenda (Suffolk Summer Theatres UK Tour), Darrell in Undercover Star (Vienna’s English Theatre, International Tour), Abberline in Jack & I: The Musical (Brighton Fringe & Baron’s Court), Soldier and Narrator in Stravinsky’s Soldier's Tale (Constella Opera and Ballet), A Fragile Lift, Mind The Gap & Nougat for Kings (Edinburgh Fringe), Orpheus and Eurydice, James Dacre, (Old Vic Tunnels). Alongside his acting work Saul is developing his CannesSeries shortlisted TV project: ‘Jewish’ and it’s sister-stageplay ‘JewISH or The Antisemite’ alongside the first series of ‘PanaMax’ a radio comedy series for Unleash The Llama Productions.
Sam Rayner - Writer/Director - currently training at L’Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris. Sam wrote Nougat for Kings and PanaMax for UTL productions. Directing credits include Nougat for Kings (Underbelly, Edinburgh); From Page to Stage: Opening Gala (Tristan Bates Theatre), Collide (Portland Hall) and Boys in the Buff (Stockwell Playhouse). Choreographic Credits Include: Jack Whitehall: At Large (UK & EIRE Arena Tour) and Ricky Whittington and his Cat (New Diorama Theatre). Associate Directing Credits Include: The Adventures of Pinocchio (Ambassadors Theatre). Assistant Directing Credits Include: Tick, Tick… Boom! (Park Theatre); James and the Giant Peach (No.1 UK & International Tour); The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (Chipping Norton Theatre & Greenwich Theatre); Six Characters in Search of an Opera (UK Tour); Poseidon and Athena, Lysistrata (V&A Museum); Doctor Faustus (Cambridge Arts Theatre) and The Adventures of Pinocchio (Greenwich Theatre). Directing Credits While Training Include: Footlights Pantomime 2013, Nine and Of Mice and Men (ADC Theatre).Twitter: @Dir_SamRayner
Kennedy Bloomer – Director
Directing Credits Include: TüManz TuK18 at Leicester Square Theatre, In Need for XPOSED at Southwark Playhouse, Brood for PEN at Arcola Theatre, Just How It Is for Secrets at The Lion and Unicorn Theatre, the world premiere of Pareidolia at Karamel Club Theatre, The Taming of the Shrew for Cambridge American Stage Tour and The 2014 CUADC/Footlights Pantomime: The Emperor's New Clothes at ADC Theatre. Choreographic Credits Include: Dr Faustus dir. by Drew Mulligan at The Cambridge Arts Theatre. Assistant Directing Credits Include: Foul Pages at The Hope Theatre, Thark at Drayton Arms Theatre, There But for the Grace of God - (go-I) at Camden People's Theatre and ARC, Stockton; The Comedy of Errors at Karamel Club Theatre and Into The Woods at Bernie Grant Arts Centre.
Twitter: @KennedyBloomer
ZOE WELDON - Producer is currently working at Bill Kenwright Ltd as part of the Stage One Apprenticeship scheme. Having produced theatre at university she began a five month internship at Sonia Friedman Productions. She then set up her own production company, and took her first show Mind the Gap to the Edinburgh Fringe. Since then she has worked at the Arcola Theatre and at SFP on a freelance basis on a variety of productions. She’s also a founding member of Damsel Productions, whose play Dry Land debuted to high acclaim. After Dry Land’s success Damsel Productions co-produced Brute with Soho Theatre as part of their Soho Rising season. Zoe has recently been working with street performer and Soho Theatre writer Nick Cassenbaum to produce his Edinburgh Fringe show Bubble Schmeisis.
SEB UMRIGAR - Producer is a comedy producer and writer. He works in production and editorial for BBC1’s The Graham Norton Show, and previously has worked in scripted development for Amber Television. He’s developed and put up shows in London and at the Edinburgh Fringe, and has studied & performs with The Free Association, and The Second City, Chicago.
Unleash the Llama was founded in 2014 by Saul Boyer and Sam Rayner, with the goal of creating unique and ambitious comedy productions. Unleash the Llama were responsible for the hit 2014 Underbelly show Nougat for Kings (“hard to take your eyes off” - The Scotsman), the irreverent narrative comedy podcast: 'PanaMax' and the sketch show TüManz 2k18 which premiered at London's Leicester Square Theatre in January 2018. Prior to this, both founders cut their teeth as members of the Cambridge Footlights. Unleash The Llama are developing a number of projects for Edinburgh this year, including two-hander, 'Jew...ish' by Saul Boyer and Poppy Damon and One Man Show: 'The Beast or Never Ending Guilt' by Saul Boyer. Our writers Saul Boyer and Poppy Damon have won awards for their writing together (Shortlisted for The RSC/Other Prize, Papatango, Cannes Series ‘In Development’ Award) and have a number of shows in development.
We are a collective of theatre creatives with a diverse range of talents, who create ambitious theatre, TV and Radio comedy that address emerging socio-political themes through idiosyncratically imaginative storytelling, often with a darkly comic tone and a historical bent. We create comedy from the macabre to the farcical, writing shows about everything from a family reunion in Scotland, the lives of Frida Kahlo and Leon Trotsky, the awkwardness of the London underground to the fallout from a US caffeine heist in 1799. One of us works at BBC Radio 4, another attends L’Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris, another writes comedy podcasts, and two work at theatre companies. Our production team has worked on: CHUTNEY (BUNKER THEATRE), BRUTE (SOHO THEATRE), BUBBLE SCHMEISIS (EDINBURGH FRINGE)
POPPY DAMON - Writer /AD is a playwright, author and BBC journalist based in London. Whilst studying history at Cambridge University, she co-wrote a play with Saul Boyer called ‘Broken Glass’ and it won the runner up in the RSC/Other Prize. Their next play about the life of Frida Kahlo and Leon Trotsky was long listed for the Papatango playwriting competition in 2017. They then wrote Jew..ish as a TV pilot and submitted it to the Cannes Series award where it was shortlisted. Poppy took her play ‘Mind the Gap’ to the 2015 Edinburgh Fringe. As a BBC journalist she works on Radio 4 news programmes as a reporter. She also produces Blood Ties, a true crime podcast. In addition her podcast 'Murderabilia' is expected to be published on Amazon's Audible in summer 2019. Poppy grew up in Western Australia, and as a teenager won the Tim Winton Young Writers award for her short story ‘The Untouchable’ which was published in Hatched, a collection of short stories. She was also selected for the Fremantle Young Writers Scheme while still at school, and here she was mentored by writers like Marcus Zuzac and Isobelle Carmody.
Saul Boyer - Writer/Performer is an actor, comedian and award-winning writer (RSC-Marlowe Other Prize 2014), educated at ArtsEd and Cambridge University. He is represented by Savages Personal Management. Saul has recently performed in ‘Alone’ by Moray Hunter (Radio 4) and his sketch show TüManz Tük18 (Leicester Square Theatre). Recent film credits include Charles Griffin in Charles Griffin (Dwarfstar Visuals) and ‘Always Remember You’, a music video for Loco Ironico. Recent credits include, Larry in Gala Mae Matchstick Prods, Baloo in Immersion Theatre’s The Jungle Book, Rupert Henztau in The Prisoner of Zenda (Suffolk Summer Theatres UK Tour), Darrell in Undercover Star (Vienna’s English Theatre, International Tour), Abberline in Jack & I: The Musical (Brighton Fringe & Baron’s Court), Soldier and Narrator in Stravinsky’s Soldier's Tale (Constella Opera and Ballet), A Fragile Lift, Mind The Gap & Nougat for Kings (Edinburgh Fringe), Orpheus and Eurydice, James Dacre, (Old Vic Tunnels). Alongside his acting work Saul is developing his CannesSeries shortlisted TV project: ‘Jewish’ and it’s sister-stageplay ‘JewISH or The Antisemite’ alongside the first series of ‘PanaMax’ a radio comedy series for Unleash The Llama Productions.
Sam Rayner - Writer/Director - currently training at L’Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris. Sam wrote Nougat for Kings and PanaMax for UTL productions. Directing credits include Nougat for Kings (Underbelly, Edinburgh); From Page to Stage: Opening Gala (Tristan Bates Theatre), Collide (Portland Hall) and Boys in the Buff (Stockwell Playhouse). Choreographic Credits Include: Jack Whitehall: At Large (UK & EIRE Arena Tour) and Ricky Whittington and his Cat (New Diorama Theatre). Associate Directing Credits Include: The Adventures of Pinocchio (Ambassadors Theatre). Assistant Directing Credits Include: Tick, Tick… Boom! (Park Theatre); James and the Giant Peach (No.1 UK & International Tour); The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (Chipping Norton Theatre & Greenwich Theatre); Six Characters in Search of an Opera (UK Tour); Poseidon and Athena, Lysistrata (V&A Museum); Doctor Faustus (Cambridge Arts Theatre) and The Adventures of Pinocchio (Greenwich Theatre). Directing Credits While Training Include: Footlights Pantomime 2013, Nine and Of Mice and Men (ADC Theatre).Twitter: @Dir_SamRayner
Kennedy Bloomer – Director
Directing Credits Include: TüManz TuK18 at Leicester Square Theatre, In Need for XPOSED at Southwark Playhouse, Brood for PEN at Arcola Theatre, Just How It Is for Secrets at The Lion and Unicorn Theatre, the world premiere of Pareidolia at Karamel Club Theatre, The Taming of the Shrew for Cambridge American Stage Tour and The 2014 CUADC/Footlights Pantomime: The Emperor's New Clothes at ADC Theatre. Choreographic Credits Include: Dr Faustus dir. by Drew Mulligan at The Cambridge Arts Theatre. Assistant Directing Credits Include: Foul Pages at The Hope Theatre, Thark at Drayton Arms Theatre, There But for the Grace of God - (go-I) at Camden People's Theatre and ARC, Stockton; The Comedy of Errors at Karamel Club Theatre and Into The Woods at Bernie Grant Arts Centre.
Twitter: @KennedyBloomer
ZOE WELDON - Producer is currently working at Bill Kenwright Ltd as part of the Stage One Apprenticeship scheme. Having produced theatre at university she began a five month internship at Sonia Friedman Productions. She then set up her own production company, and took her first show Mind the Gap to the Edinburgh Fringe. Since then she has worked at the Arcola Theatre and at SFP on a freelance basis on a variety of productions. She’s also a founding member of Damsel Productions, whose play Dry Land debuted to high acclaim. After Dry Land’s success Damsel Productions co-produced Brute with Soho Theatre as part of their Soho Rising season. Zoe has recently been working with street performer and Soho Theatre writer Nick Cassenbaum to produce his Edinburgh Fringe show Bubble Schmeisis.
SEB UMRIGAR - Producer is a comedy producer and writer. He works in production and editorial for BBC1’s The Graham Norton Show, and previously has worked in scripted development for Amber Television. He’s developed and put up shows in London and at the Edinburgh Fringe, and has studied & performs with The Free Association, and The Second City, Chicago.