Making Theatre

 

The Idiot Graduating MA Classical Theatre students at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. With Tristan Parkes (composer/MD), Ben Ormerod (LX), Hannah Schmidt (designer) and Maya Dagan (movement).

 

 

Pericles  Graduating MA Classical Theatre students at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. with Gabrielle Moleta (movement) and Tristan Parkes (composer/MD)

 

 

 

The Lower Depths  Rose Bruford. Staged in the round with 3rd year actor/musicians

 

 

Amerika  E15. Written by me and devised with 3rd year Physical Theatre students

 

 

Shakespeare Where are You?  An hour-long biopic of Shakespeare for children. For the Globe in the Sam Wanamaker Theatre, co-written with Jamie Askill

Bottom’s Dream  A version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for kids staged with a full orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall

 

Cartier

In 2022 I was commissioned by Cartier international to create a 45-minute piece on the mythology, anthropology, philosophy and deep history of jewels and jewellery making. We staged it for an audience of 500 at their annual conference in Marrakech. It was then translated into French by Nathalie Azoulai and I directed it with two French actors at the Théâtre des Variétés in Paris.

In Spring and Summer of 2023 I created another piece for Cartier, again in Marrakech, and again with Tristan Parkes making magical music. Kristin Winters, Tom Kelsey performed. And so did Gabi Moleta even though she had already helped us with some amazing transformations into and out of panthers.

Marbella 2024 – a 45-minute piece about jewellery and magic, created as a voice-over to a video accompaniment.

 

Scheherezade – Berlin

I was commissioned by Cartier and the French-based Brazilian conductor Simone Menezes to create dialogue to go under, over, around Scheherezade, the Rimsky Korsakoff piece. The idea was to tell the story of 1001 Nights in a way that frames it as a feminist fable, highlighting the courage and strength of its female protagonist. That’s a thousand pages or so in a couple of thousand words.

It premiered in September 2024 at the Frank Gehry-designed Pierre Boulez Saal in central Berlin, home of Daniel Barenboim’s East West Divan Orchestra. French-Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani and Kristin Winters starred alongside K, Menezes’ 15-piece ensemble, Iranian percussionists Keyvan and Bijan Chemirani, and Rana Gorgani, a Sufi dancer.

A film version was screened on European arts channel Mezzo in October. In October 2025 I will be directing it at the Philharmonie de Paris, in French, with Golshifteh again as Scheherazade, and Suliane Brahim as Dinarzade.

 

Ned Boulting / 1923

In Autumn 2024 I helped old friend and cycling journalist Ned Boulting put together his one-man show, based on his brilliant book 1923. Given that it’s basically about cycling, it’s astonishingly moving, erudite, and intriguing.

 

Gallery