West End Stars Lead Concept Album for CLOCKWORK CHRISTMAS

Recorded at Abbey Road Studios with a 14-piece orchestra and featuring Kerry Ellis, Peter Forbes, Claire Moore, Lauren Byrne, Lucie St. Louis and more, Clockwork Christmas is an eight-song concept album for a brand-new Christmas musical — an international collaboration between composer Craig Adams (Lift, Thérèse Raquin), lyricist Anton Mouzykantskii and book writer Daria Aksenova.

Inspired by a short story by German writer, Nobel Laureate Heinrich Böll, Clockwork Christmas asks a simple, unsettling question: what happens when Christmas refuses to end? After a disastrous holiday dinner triggers their mother Milla’s shocking breakdown, the Lentz family discovers that the only thing keeping her stable is restaging a perfectly repaired, postcard-perfect Christmas — every single night, without fail…

At first, the routine seems to work, patching up old scars and pulling the family closer together. Soon, however, the ritual spirals into a twisted nightmare as the children slip away and are replaced first by actors and then by mechanical clockwork dolls, until the Lentz’s Christmas curse leaves room for something entirely unexpected - a Christmas miracle.

Craig Adams’ score features character-lead musical theatre writing with rich lyrical melodies and a contemporary tilt, orchestrated with heart and wit by Grigory Losenkov. Across the album, the songs span a wide emotional and stylistic range, as Anton Mouzykantskii’s lyrics open up intimate moments for characters across three generations. 

The album opens with Good Luck, Mister Goose!, a mother’s ticking time-bomb beneath a meticulously prepared Christmas dinner, sung by West End icon Claire Moore (Miss Saigon, Calendar Girls), and is followed by the chaotic family ensemble number Santa Franz. From there, the score moves to a more classical sound with Shortest Short Straw, a ballad of familial non-belonging, heartbreakingly performed by Lucie St. Louis (Phantom of the Opera, Wicked).

Lucie’s Sunrise - a shattering song about a child-prodigy grappling with her first rejection is brought to life by Eurovision and Remember Monday’s Lauren Byrne (Six, Matilda), while the brilliant actor and Sondheim interpreter Peter Forbes (Follies, Guys and Dolls) delivers the stirring and dark Clockwork Dolls — as the Lentz father carves mechanical replacements for his children in a desperate attempt to uphold the Christmas ritual for his fading wife.

The tender proposal song Will You? is sung by the silvery-voiced Louis Maskell (Grinning Man, Hamilton), while The Middle is Mine - an aggravated middle-child jazz-waltz is performed by the musical’s lyricist Anton Mouzykantskii.

Closing the album is Once a Year, the album’s lead single — recently shortlisted for the Stiles and Drewe Best New Song Prize. Sung by the magnificent Kerry Ellis, the song marks the story’s moment of release, as it breaks the Lentz’s Christmas spell and stirs the seasons anew…

Kerry Ellis, comments, “Being part of Clockwork Christmas and lending my voice to ‘Once a Year’ has been a genuine joy. Craig Adams and Anton Mouzykantskii have created something magical, and I feel truly honoured to help bring their beautiful song to life. This project reminded me why I love what I do — music has the power to bring us together, especially at this time of year.”

Anton Mouzykantskii, lyricist and producer, comments, “After six years of crafting this material across different countries and languages, hearing these songs fully realised at Abbey Road by such generous, nuanced storytellers and musicians has been everything we could have hoped for as a writing team — and more. We hope this album offers listeners a first glimpse into the peculiar world of Clockwork Christmas, a show which, like Christmas in the story itself, may yet develop a habit of returning...”

Produced by Anton Mouzykantskii, the album features Orchestrations and Arrangements by Grigory Losenkov, Music Direction by Dave Rose, Engineering by Haydn Bendall, and Mixing and Mastering by Vlad Avy. Cover artwork and web design created by Olga Efimenko and Stephanie Dvoyak.