I have extensive experience writing for puppet theatre, having grown up on the Puppet Theatre Barge and been writing music for their productions for over 15 years, as well as working with a wide range of other puppet and theatre companies for both live and recorded music for the stage. To see a full portfolio, please visit Soundcloud; for a small selection from a range of recent projects, see below. All instruments are played by me, unless otherwise stated. I also write music for live performance with storytellers for the Embers Collective, you can hear an example of my work on this podcast.
THE Selfish Giant (2023)
Below are some tracks from The Selfish Giant (The Puppet Theatre Barge 2023), a show based on Oscar Wilde’s The Selfish Giant was adaptated by James Boswell. Performed with great skill and humour using marionettes (string puppets), and I wrote a soundtrack based around Irish/Scottish Trad style, slow airs, jigs and reels. My compositions were brought to life by the amazing David Delarre (guitar) (James Patrick Gavin (Violin) and Joe Devine (Bodhran), and recorded by Zac Gvi. Enjoy!
THE Crow’s tale (2019)
Below are some tracks from The Crow’s Tale by String Theatre, a show for children based on the myth of a rainbow-coloured crow with a beautiful singing voice. The crow, after an endless winter, must fly to the sun, and sing to it to ask it to bring heat back to the world. In doing so, it has its feathers blackened and voice scorched. Featuring the stunning voice of Polina Shepherd – yes, that is a human voice. See the full playlist here.
The Butterfly’s Spell (2018)
Several tracks from The Butterfly’s Spell by Federico García Lorca, performed on the Puppet Theatre Barge. Featuring the beautiful voice of Dunja Botic and the sublime clarinet playing of Daniel Gouly. See the full playlist here.
The Insect Circus (2019)
The Insect Circus by String Theatre is based on a very old tradition of Victorian trick marionettes. I originally composed this soundtrack for accordion, but recently re-recorded it with a quartet of fantastic musicians, which has really brought the tunes to life. It will be showing on the Puppet Theatre Barge this summer – you can book tickets here. Featuring Arran Kent on clarinet, Ben Danzig on guitar and Simon Read on double bass. See the full playlist here.
Miscellaneous
Sometimes I write for pleasure, and not on commission – imagine! Here’s a piece inspired by Yann Tiersen
The 393 bus from Upper Clapton to Chalk Farm is a brilliant bus, but it never comes. In fact, one day I got so annoyed with it I wrote a string quartet for it. The 393 is sighted at one point during the piece, but we soon learn that it’s not in service.