THEATRE WORK

Choral Design & Dramaturgy

My theatre work centres on the belief that the sung voice can transform storytelling. As a choral designer and composer, I collaborate with theatre companies, directors, writers and communities to create original vocal work that deepens narrative, shapes emotional landscapes, and invites audiences into a more embodied experience of story.

I specialise in composing bespoke vocal scores – from full choral soundscapes to subtle vocal textures – tailored precisely to the needs of each production. Working closely with actors, directors, musicians and producers, I integrate spoken word, song and non-verbal vocalisation to build narrative arcs and enrich character development. This might mean writing a score that reflects a character’s emotional journey, devising rhythmic motifs that carry a story forward, or shaping ensemble vocal work that becomes the heartbeat of a scene.

Co-creation and Workshop Practice

Central to my process is co-creation. I design and lead workshops where performers, community participants and professional creatives work together to generate original material. Through playful and exploratory exercises – from percussive vocal improvisations and breath work to lyrical writing and character-based vocal tasks – participants investigate motivation, intention and emotional truth. These sessions not only develop the vocal material itself but also serve as dramaturgical tools, revealing new layers of meaning within the story and shaping the trajectory of the work.

My facilitation is particularly focused on empowering non-professional performers and those who might feel disconnected from their singing voice. By creating a supportive, collaborative environment, I help participants overcome vocal blocks, rediscover confidence, and explore the expressive possibilities of their own voices. The result is a collective vocal language that feels authentic, inclusive and rooted in the lived experiences of those who create it.

Choral Song Cycles and Dramaturgy

My work in choral dramaturgy has grown out of a long-standing practice of creating large-scale choral song cycles – immersive works that weave together narrative, place, theme and community voice. Early projects such as It’s About Time, The Four Directions, Journey Songs and Unsung explored how song could move beyond concert performance into something more theatrical, atmospheric and story-driven.

I was also the rehearsal and choir director for several large-scale Brighton Festival promenade projects, including Souterrain (Kneehigh Theatre, Brighton Festival), Depart (Circa, Brighton Festival) and The Arms of Sleep (The Voice Project, Brighton Festival).

These song cycles laid the groundwork for my shift into choral theatre – collaborative, multi-disciplinary works that integrate song with movement, spoken word, visual design and audience experience – and ultimately into choral dramaturgy, which now forms a central strand of my creative leadership, focusing on the integration of choral composition and performance into theatrical narrative and storytelling.

This strand of my practice includes regular collaborations with theatre companies such as Brighton People’s Theatre and Third Space Theatre, composing and directing music for devised productions including Tighten Our Belts, Born and Bread, Pandora, Medea and Let It Be a Tale. These co-created works fuse vocal soundscapes with movement, myth and contemporary theatre-making to create powerful, multi-layered performance experiences.

My interest in the relationship between song, story and spoken word has also informed my own project Bards & Ballads, which explores how narrative, politics and poetry can be embodied and reimagined through collective multi-disciplinary performance.

Training & Experience

My approach to choral dramaturgy has been shaped by a rich combination of training, mentorship and lived practice. I began exploring the relationship between voice and theatre through early work with Re:action Theatre, where I first encountered the power of ensemble devising and the potential of the sung voice as a dramatic tool. That early grounding in collaborative theatre-making has evolved through decades of composing, directing and facilitating vocal work in both community and professional contexts.

Mentorship and study have also played an important role in deepening and refining my practice. The Bards & Balladsprogramme with Jane Boston at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama helped to crystallise my interest in the intersection of narrative, poetry and song, while long-term creative partnerships with companies such as Brighton People’s Theatre and Third Space Theatre have allowed me to expand and experiment with new dramaturgical approaches.

Equally significant has been the learning that comes directly from practice: collaborating with directors, writers, actors, musicians and communities on projects that demand both artistic sensitivity and bold creative thinking. This ongoing dialogue between training, collaboration and experimentation continues to shape my work, informing the way I compose, devise, co-create and integrate voice into theatrical storytelling.

From Workshops to Stage

This collaborative and dramaturgical approach has shaped productions with companies including Brighton People’s Theatre and Third Space Theatre, where vocal work becomes an integral part of the storytelling. In co-created projects such as Tighten Our Belts, Born and Bread, Pandora, Medea and Let It Be a Tale, the voice is not just an aesthetic layer but a narrative engine – carrying emotion, perspective and collective memory.