Music for theatre
Dance theatre: Infinite Glimpse
Infinite glimpse is the brainchild of award-winning choreographer Eleesha Drennan. It was first performed in February 2022 at Dance East, Ipswich, and then a month later at Sadler’s Wells Lilian Baylis theatre in London.
The theme is our human relationship with time – subjective time, which can rush by or slow almost to a standstill depending on our state of mind – the way we mark time, the way we fill it with memories to push back against its passing, and the way that it slips through our fingers, however we try to hold on to it.
Eleesha gave me some ideas about what she wanted, and I took it from there: the music is fresh, accessible and tonal, and embraces a mix of traditional instruments and samples (especially ticking clocks, gongs and small bells). Style and instrumentation evolve from section to section, starting with clock-driven metrical games for piano and bass clarinet, and culminating in the poignant finale for traditional string orchestra.
Photo credit: Jane Hobson. Dancers: Marla King, Paola Drera, Michael Marquez, Daniel Navarro Lorenzo
Musical theatre: Dr Faustess
I wrote the music and lyrics for the musical comedy Dr Faustess to an original script by writer/director Dictynna Hood. It was first performed in London’s Cockpit Theatre in January 2020, only a couple of months before Covid forced us into lockdown.
The songs presented here are my original demo arrangements, with me singing all the roles in character.
VIEW SYNOPSIS
Ancient Greek theatre
Ancient Greek theatre was full of music. Theatrical choruses were actually song-and-dance routines, and the highlight of the show. Today only the lyrics survive, with precise rhythmic patterns of long and short syllables. Why not set these to new music, and restore singing and dancing to its central role? Make ancient theatre, you know, fun… entertaining... even thrilling?
I started doing this while teaching Greek and Latin at King’s College London – where they put on a tragedy or comedy every year in the original Greek. Later I became a co-founder of Thiasos, a theatre company which uses non-Western theatrical traditions to breathe new life into ancient theatre.
Shows and performances
DETAILS HERE
1995 Aristophanes Lysistrata, for King’s College London.
I was the arranger, and played guitar in the stage band. Michael Silk was the composer, skilfully adapting the Greek lyrics to fit well-known tunes. We came over the next couple of decades to form a warm musical partnership.
1997 Euripides Medea, for KCL.
I was executive producer of the show, and wrote the majority of the chorus music, as well as the English narration.
Medea was a big hit, as these things go, and a lot of that comes down to my influence.
The 1997 production of Medea has been known as one of the most adventurous and successful King’s College Greek plays… The music was exotic and the chorus moved in stylised choreography influenced by traditional South Indian dancing. An English narrator was added at the beginning of each scene. The choices made in this production can be seen to epitomise the evolution of Greek drama performed in the original language: seeking to recreate an authentic, exciting experience whilst still engaging the audience.
1998 Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus, for KCL.
Sole composer on the show.
1998 Euripides, Hippolytos, for Thiasos.
I composed the music for the songs, and wrote the English language narration. Hippolytos is the high-water mark of my work for ancient theatre, and there is music in there that I still deeply love. The production was first commissioned by Cambridge University for the Cambridge Classics Triennial 1998. Subsequent shows and revivals:
1998 Interface Festival of Intercultural Arts in London
1999 Handa Noh Studio Theatre for Royal Holloway, Surrey
2001 International Festival of Ancient Greek Drama at the Paphos Odeion in Cyprus
2004 Shaw Theatre, London
2004 Bentley Theatre, Lincoln Arts Centre (Dartmouth College) in USA
2016 Cockpit Theatre, London
2016 Gardzienice CTP, and Teatr Polski in Warsaw, Poland
1999 Aristophanes, Ploutos, for Thiasos.
Sole composer on the show. Performances:
1999 Reed Hall, Exeter
1999 Hellenic Centre, London
2000 University of Texas, Austin
2000 Aristophanes, Birds, for KCL.
Arranger for Michael Silk.
2001 Aristophones, Peace, for Thiasos.
Sole composer on the show. Performances:
University of Texas, Austin
Cockpit Theatre, London
2006 Aristophanes, ‘Women Take Power’ (Ecclesiazusae), for KCL.
Arranger for Michael Silk.
2014 Aristophanes, Clouds, for KCL.
Arranger for Michael Silk.
2015 Aristophanes, Wasps, for KCL.
Arranger for Michael Silk.
2018 Euripides, Medea, for KCL.
Arranger for Michael Silk.
Music from Hippolytos
Though Hippolytos was performed completely live at its Cambridge debut, when we went on tour we used these pre-recorded backing tracks for the chorus to sing and dance to, and for the stage musicians to play along to. The vocals on some of the tracks were put in as a safety precaution, in case our singers forgot the words – which, after all, were all in ancient Greek! – during the dance routines.
