Michael Bruce (composer)

Last updated
Michael Bruce
Born (1983-11-22) 22 November 1983 (age 40)
Scotland
Genres
Occupation(s)
Instrument(s) Piano
Years active2005–present
Website michaelbrucecomposer.com

Michael Bruce (born 22 November 1983) [1] [2] is a Scottish composer and lyricist working in theatre, television and film. He was composer-in-residence at the Donmar Warehouse theatre during Josie Rourke's artistic directorship there from 2012 to 2019.

Contents

His theatre credits include Much Ado About Nothing (2011) with David Tennant and Catherine Tate, Coriolanus (2013) with Tom Hiddleston, Twelfth Night (2017) with Tamsin Greig and Antony & Cleopatra (2018) with Ralph Fiennes, as well as the 2021 made-for-TV Romeo & Juliet with Josh O'Connor and Jessie Buckley. In 2022, he wrote original songs for the Netflix mockumentary Hard Cell .

Early life and education

Bruce grew up in Aberdeen, Scotland [3] and first took to the stage in Scottish Ballet's production of TheNutcracker, going on to become Highland Dancing Champion. [4] [5] Done with dancing, he took up table tennis in his teens, playing for the Scotland national team throughout Europe. [5] [6] He then studied as a singer/songwriter at Paul McCartney's Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. [5] [7] [8]

Career

Early in his career, he worked as a musical director at the Battersea Arts Centre, the Theatre Royal Lincoln and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, [9] and also assisted on several national tours, cruise ships and pantomimes. [6] In 2007, he won the Notes for The Stage competition run by the Notes from New York concert series and The Stage newspaper, which led to a concert of his musical theatre work being staged at the Apollo Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue. [3] [5] [9] [10]

He soon got his break as the first composer-in-residence at the Bush Theatre, when its artistic director was Josie Rourke. [11] From 2012 to 2019, he held the same position at the Donmar Warehouse, after Rourke was appointed there as Michael Grandage's successor. He wrote scores for many plays at the Donmar, including Coriolanus (2013) with Tom Hiddleston, [12] Les Liaisons Dangereuses (2016) with Dominic West and Janet McTeer [13] and Saint Joan (2016) with Gemma Arterton, [14] all three shown in cinemas across the UK and internationally as part of the National Theatre Live programme, as well as BAFTA-nominated The Vote (2015) with Judi Dench, broadcast live on More4 on general election night. [15]

Poster for the 2011 production of Much Ado About Nothing with David Tennant and Catherine Tate, who sang Bruce's original song "We Go Together" on the official soundtrack, available on music streaming services Poster for the 2011 production of Much Ado About Nothing starring Catherine Tate and David Tennant.jpg
Poster for the 2011 production of Much Ado About Nothing with David Tennant and Catherine Tate, who sang Bruce's original song "We Go Together" on the official soundtrack, available on music streaming services

His other theatre credits include Sonia Friedman's Much Ado About Nothing (2011) with David Tennant and Catherine Tate at the Wyndham's Theatre, Candide (2013), The Two Gentlemen of Verona (2014) and Timon of Athens (2018) for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Noises Off (2012) and Other Desert Cities (2014) at the Old Vic, Privacy (2016) at the Public Theater in New York and The Winslow Boy (2013) on Broadway.

Bruce has also worked on many productions at the National Theatre, including Man and Superman (2015) and Antony & Cleopatra (2018), both starring Ralph Fiennes, The Beaux' Stratagem (2015) with Samuel Barnett, Twelfth Night (2017) with Tamsin Greig and Hansard (2019) with Lindsay Duncan, all of which became parts of the National Theatre Live collection.

In 2011, he released his debut musical theatre album, Unwritten Songs, which entered the iTunes vocal chart at No. 1. [16] [17] He has also written a book called Writing Music for the Stage: A Practical Guide for Theatremakers, which was published by Nick Hern Books in 2016 with a foreword by Josie Rourke. [18] Mark Gatiss called it "a must-read for all those with an interest in how music works on stage", while Judi Dench commented, "A good score makes a world of difference to an actor. Read Michael Bruce's book and you'll understand why. He is a genius." [10]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, he wrote the soundtrack for the National Theatre's critically acclaimed first made-solely-for-TV production of Romeo & Juliet (2021), filmed in 17 days in an empty theatre with Josh O'Connor, Jessie Buckley and Tamsin Greig. [19] [20] [21] It premiered on Sky Arts in the UK and PBS in the USA. He also recently wrote original songs for the Netflix mockumentary sitcom Hard Cell (2022) and the original score for The Nan Movie (2022), both starring and written by Catherine Tate.

Composing credits

Film and television

YearTitleNotes
2013 10 O'Clock Live Episode #3.1
2021 Romeo & Juliet National Theatre's first made-for-TV production starring Josh O'Connor and Jessie Buckley
2022 The Nan Movie
Hard Cell 6 episodes; original songs
Great Performances Episode: "Keeping Company with Sondheim"
2023 A Merry Scottish Christmas Hallmark Channel original films
2024 A Scottish Love Scheme

Theatre productions

YearTitleVenue
2009Ed: The Musical Edinburgh Festival Fringe / Trafalgar Theatre
2010The Great British Country Fete Bush Theatre
2010–2011 Men Should Weep National Theatre
2011 Much Ado About Nothing Wyndham's Theatre
2012 Noises Off Old Vic Theatre / Novello Theatre
The Recruiting Officer Donmar Warehouse
Blue Heart Afternoon Hampstead Theatre
The Physicists Donmar Warehouse
Events While Guarding The Bofors Gun Finborough Theatre
Philadelphia, Here I Come! Donmar Warehouse
Relatively Speaking Theatre Royal Bath
Berenice Donmar Warehouse
Straight Crucible Theatre / Bush Theatre
2013 Trelawny of the Wells Donmar Warehouse
Noises OffUK tour
Relatively SpeakingWyndham's Theatre
Strange Interlude National Theatre
A Little Hotel on the SideTheatre Royal Bath
Candide Royal Shakespeare Company
The Machine Manchester International Festival / Park Avenue Armory
The Winslow Boy Old Vic Theatre / Roundabout Theatre Company
Coriolanus Donmar Warehouse
2014 Other Desert Cities Old Vic Theatre
Privacy Donmar Warehouse
The Two Gentlemen of Verona Royal Shakespeare Company
Hay Fever Theatre Royal Bath
2015 Duke of York's Theatre / Theatre Royal Windsor / Manor Pavilion Theatre
Man and Superman National Theatre
The Vote Donmar Warehouse
The Beaux' Stratagem National Theatre
Tipping the Velvet Lyric Theatre
2016Sunset at the Villa ThaliaNational Theatre
Privacy The Public Theater
Les Liaisons Dangereuses Donmar Warehouse / Booth Theatre
Saint Joan Donmar Warehouse
2017 Twelfth Night National Theatre
The Lady from the Sea Donmar Warehouse
2018 Harold and Maude Charing Cross Theatre
The Importance of Being Earnest Vaudeville Theatre
Antony & Cleopatra National Theatre
Measure for Measure Donmar Warehouse
Timon of Athens Royal Shakespeare Company
2019 Hansard National Theatre
2020Timon of Athens Theatre for a New Audience / Shakespeare Theatre Company
2021The Illusionist Umeda Arts Theater
2022Much Ado About NothingNational Theatre

Accolades

Awards

Nominations

Publications

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References

  1. ↑ Bruce, Michael (2011-11-23). "Thanks for all the birthday wishes. Feeling loved :-) x". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  2. ↑ Sproull, Karen (2013-11-23). "Happy 30th birthday @MBruce83". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  3. 1 2 Amer, Matthew (2009-10-19). "Introducing… Michael Bruce". Official London Theatre. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  4. ↑ "All-Star Concerts of Michael Bruce & Lance Horne | WhatsOnStage". www.whatsonstage.com. 31 August 2009. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Bosanquet, Theo (2009-07-30). "Galas: Full Broadway Line-up, Concert for Bruce | WhatsOnStage". www.whatsonstage.com. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  6. 1 2 Dunn, Carrie. "MICHAEL BRUCE: A LITTLE LESS ORDINARY To Showcase At The Apollo Theatre". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  7. ↑ "About". Michael Bruce. 2015-08-09. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  8. ↑ "Michael Bruce". Nick Hern Books. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  9. 1 2 3 Baluch, Lalayn (2007-12-06). "Bruce wins Notes for The Stage musical theatre prize" . British Newspaper Archive. The Stage . Retrieved 2022-09-28. Bruce's previous writing credits include work for the Battersea Arts Centre and Greenwich Theatre. He is currently working on the forthcoming UK tour of Hello Dolly and is musical director for this year's pantomime at the Theatre Royal, Lincoln.
  10. 1 2 "Writing Music for the Stage". Nick Hern Books. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  11. ↑ "Michael Bruce: Why every composer gains by writing music for plays". The Stage. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  12. ↑ "CORIOLANUS". Donmar Warehouse. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  13. ↑ "LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES". Donmar Warehouse. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  14. ↑ "SAINT JOAN". Donmar Warehouse. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  15. ↑ "Judi Dench and the anarchists: why British theatre has gone election mad". the Guardian. 2015-04-22. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  16. ↑ Gari (2011-03-21). "REVIEW: Michael Bruce – Unwritten Songs". Gari Wellingham. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  17. ↑ Unwritten Songs , retrieved 2022-09-28
  18. ↑ Bruce, Michael (2016). Writing music for the stage : a practical guide for theatremakers. Josie Rourke. London. ISBN   978-1-84842-393-0. OCLC   918924932.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  19. ↑ "Romeo and Juliet review – National Theatre's first film is an ingenious triumph". the Guardian. 2021-04-04. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  20. ↑ "Romeo & Juliet review – Jessie Buckley and Josh O'Connor are outstanding". the Guardian. 2021-04-11. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  21. ↑ Davis, Clive. "Romeo and Juliet review — Jessie Buckley and Josh O'Connor create chemistry". The Times . ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  22. 1 2 3 "Ed Wins Two Edinburgh Fringe Musical Awards | WhatsOnStage". www.whatsonstage.com. 25 August 2009. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  23. ↑ "Full list: Winners announced of the 2013 Whatsonstage.com Awards | WhatsOnStage". www.whatsonstage.com. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  24. ↑ "25th Annual TV Awards (2020-21) - Online Film & Television Association" . Retrieved 2022-09-28.
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