Funbox (theatre group)

Funbox
Funbox
Origin	Scotland
Genres	Children's songs
Years active	2015–2022
Members	Anya Scott-Rodgers; Kevin McLeod; Gary Coupland
Website	https://www.funbox.co.uk

Funbox are a Scottish musical theatre group and children entertainers. The group tour, performing music and comedy for children, with a focus on traditional Scottish playground songs.[1]

Origins

Members Anya Scott-Rodgers, Kevin MacLeod and Gary Coupland were all previously members of The Singing Kettle, when it disbanded in 2015 after 30 years.[2][3] The three were informed that the touring "Singing Kettle" company was not available for purchase, after the retirement of two of the group's founding members in 2012.[4] They therefore formed Funbox. One of the founder members of The Singing Kettle returned to touring in 2019 with solo performances.

Members

Gary Coupland

Gary Coupland MBE (born 26 March 1964) is the group's musician and composer. He was one of the original members of The Singing Kettle. He studied at Napier University (where he was named Alumni of the Year in 2014[5])and at The London College of Music. He received an MBE in 1999 for services to Children’s theatre[6] and is a patron of Down's Syndrome Scotland.[7]

Kevin Macleod

Kevin Macleod (born 9 March 1969) was originally The Singing Kettle's stage manager, before joining the group and later forming Funbox. He also plays 'Bonzo', a canine character he brought with him from The Singing Kettle.

He studied stage management at Queen Margaret College and compères at Celtic Connections and the Orkney Folk Festival.[8]

Anya Scott-Rodgers

Anya Scott-Rodgers (born 7 October 1987) fronted The Singing Kettle in 2013 after auditioning among hundreds of applicants. She is a graduate of Glasgow University, Reid Kerr College and Glasgow College of Nautical Studies. She plays guitar.[9]

Tours

The group's first appearance was at the 2015 Celtic Connections,[10] followed by their debut tour, Pirates and Princesses, in 2015.[1]

Large Scale Tours

Show	Year	Notes
Pirates and Princesses	Summer 2015	Debut tour. First live DVD.
Santa's Sleepover Show	Christmas 2015	First Christmas show. Only Christmas show released on DVD.
Superheroes	Summer 2016
Winter Wonderland	Winter 2016	Nov-Dec shows billed as 'Christmas Wonderland'.
Underwater Adventure	Summer 2017
Santa's Funtastic Factory	Winter 2017	Billed as 'The Funtastic Factory' for post Christmas and New Year shows.
Dinosaur Safari	Summer 2018
Once Upon A Christmas	Winter 2018	Billed as 'Once Upon a Time' for post Christmas and New Year shows.
Wild West Show	Summer 2019
Christmas in Toytown/Trouble in Toytown	Winter 2019
Jungle Party	Summer 2020	only went to Glasgow in 2020 as of COVID 19 and was cancelled
Santa’s Big Surprise	Winter 2020	The first online show due to Covid-19

Small Community Tours

Pirates
Highland Fling
Rocking All Over The World
Funbox at the Fringe
Fancy Dress Fun
Animal Magic
Space Race

References

Bruce, Keith (23 December 2014). "A box of fun beyond the kettle". The Herald. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
McKenzie, Steven (3 September 2017). "Lifting the lid on children's act Funbox". BBC. Archived from the original on 29 December 2017. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
Apter, Kelly (3 July 2016). "Box of tricks". The Times.
Pirie, Mark (4 June 2015). "Lanarkshire actor set to come back to her roots as Singing Kettle spin-off Funbox arrives in the area". Daily Record. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
"Final whistle for The Singing Kettle". www.scotsman.com. Archived from the original on 9 September 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
McKenna, Lynn (3 September 2014). "Singing Kettle will perform for the final time at Motherwell Concert Hall". dailyrecord. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
"Funbox - Scottish Family Entertainment Show - About Us - Gary". Fun Box - Scottish - Songs. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
"Funbox - Scottish Family Entertainment Show - About Us - Kevin". Fun Box - Scottish - Songs. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
"Funbox - Scottish Family Entertainment Show - About Us - Anya". Fun Box - Scottish - Songs. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
"Funbox opens at Celtic Connections". Evening Times. 31 January 2015. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.

External links

Funbox's web site

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[Herald-1] Bruce, Keith (23 December 2014). "A box of fun beyond the kettle". The Herald. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.

[BBC-2] McKenzie, Steven (3 September 2017). "Lifting the lid on children's act Funbox". BBC. Archived from the original on 29 December 2017. Retrieved 20 July 2018.

[TheTimes-3] Apter, Kelly (3 July 2016). "Box of tricks". The Times.

[record-4] Pirie, Mark (4 June 2015). "Lanarkshire actor set to come back to her roots as Singing Kettle spin-off Funbox arrives in the area". Daily Record. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.

[scotsman-5] "Final whistle for The Singing Kettle". www.scotsman.com. Archived from the original on 9 September 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2019.

[dailyrec-6] McKenna, Lynn (3 September 2014). "Singing Kettle will perform for the final time at Motherwell Concert Hall". dailyrecord. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2019.

[aboutgary-7] "Funbox - Scottish Family Entertainment Show - About Us - Gary". Fun Box - Scottish - Songs. Retrieved 16 January 2019.

[aboutkevin-8] "Funbox - Scottish Family Entertainment Show - About Us - Kevin". Fun Box - Scottish - Songs. Retrieved 16 January 2019.

[aboutanya-9] "Funbox - Scottish Family Entertainment Show - About Us - Anya". Fun Box - Scottish - Songs. Retrieved 16 January 2019.

[Times-10] "Funbox opens at Celtic Connections". Evening Times. 31 January 2015. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.