THEATRE & OPERA

SOUND DESIGNER | The Master Builder
16th August - 21st November 2026
Arcola Theatre, play by Henrik Ibsen, dir. Mehmet Ergen & adaptation by David Edgar
Tickets

UPCOMING PROJECTS

COMPOSER & LIBRETTIST | The Boy Who Went to Find Fear
5 pm, 26th September 2026
Online Screening of RCM Fantasy & Fairytales Short Operas with pre-show talk hosted by the Tête à Tête Festival 2026
Tickets

THEATRE

Director
Imy Wyatt Corner
Writer
Lucas Closs
Producer
Ella Carmen Dale
Associate Director
Cassia Thakkar

Co-Perfomer
Lydia Cochrane
Set and Costume Design
Peiyao Wang
Lighting Design
Catja Hamilton

Cast
Kim Findley, Nisha Emich & Julia Pilkington

Poster Design
Jed Berry
Photographer
Steve Gregson

COMPOSER & PERFORMER | The Sequel
King’s Head Theatre (20/04 - 02/05, 2026)

★★★★★ ‘Deniz Dortok’s score adds another dimension to production, heightening both the comedy and unease’. Fairy Powered Productions

★★★★★ ‘A live score threads through it all, adding an almost dreamlike texture, like the play itself is remembering something incorrectly, or rewriting itself as you watch.’ Dark Matters

★★★★½ ‘The production features a live band, used almost like a film score, largely underscoring the drama and adding texture and suspense to the storytelling. Composer and musician Deniz Dortok's score includes sustained notes which are effective in dramatic moments to heighten the tension and the eeriness of the piece.’ - London Theatre Reviews

★★★★½ ‘The music expertly heightens the more mystical or eerie beats of the narrative, ensuring the tension never truly dissipates.’ - A Youngish Perspective

★★★★ ‘The atmosphere of darkly comic intrigue is much enhanced by Deniz Dortok’s music, ably performed by Dortok himself and Lydia Cochrane.’ - The Peg Review

★★★★ ‘The live band and original score adds a cinematic layer.’ - Staged Theatre

★★★★ Everything Theatre

★★★★ Paul in London‍ ‍

Director
Ege Küçücük
Writer
Yalım Danışman
Producer
Underground Theatre
Sound Operator
Yaman Uğral

Cast
Lucy Clifton, Riain Cash & Yalım Danışman

SOUND DESIGNER | Not Your Life
Etcetera Theatre (11-15/05, 2025)

★★★★ ‘Tantalisingly dark look at love and betrayal’ - UK Theatre Web

★★★★ ‘The dialogue is rather witty... conflict either interspersed with niceties about the meal tasting great, or occurring over the top of lift music is something I personally found hilarious.’ - Reviews Written by J

‘An intense story about betrayal and belonging, with a script that flirts with greatness.’ - Everything Theatre

Directors
Lucas Closs & Lola Shaw
Writer
Lucas Closs
Producers
Clem Farrar, Sky Quinn & Lucas Closs
Costume and Set Design
Ella Schlesinger

Cast
Kate Crisp, Stephen Chance, Tony Taylor, Julia Righton & Louis Walwyn

Poster Design
Iris Vermeulen

COMPOSER & PERFORMER | The Practice
The George Tavern (07-12/04, 2025)

‘Musical dexterity with the double bass sees Dortok scraping out a dissonant chord, beating a percussive rhythm, and rattling disconcertingly with a metal brush, adding a filmic quality to each scene. His music resonates around the intimate George Tavern theatre space, amplifying the claustrophobia of this series of meetings. The Practice is much more compelling for his efforts.’ - A Youngish Perspective

Director
Lola Shaw
Writer
Lucas Closs
Producers
Clem Farrar
Co-Composer & Co-Performer
Mariia Liaskovets
Costume
Oscar Mateos

Cast
Francesca Anderson, Stephen Chance & Zoe Aronson

COMPOSER & PERFORMER | Skunlip
The George Tavern (07-12/04, 2025)

★★★★ ‘…an excellent live musical score…working seamlessly to transport Lucas Closs’ witty dialogue from naturalism to moments of mysticism with ease.’ - The Reviews Hub

‘an intriguing, original play. It has an uncanny character: poetic and intricate, yet instantly accessible and familiar.’- Ben Miles

Director and Producer
Lucas Closs ‍ ‍
Writers
Lucas Closs and Isobel Salt
Costume Design
Oscar Mateos
Light and Sound Operator
Charlie Lovejoy
Technician
David Street

Cast
Isobel Salt, Stevie Polywka & Alexandra Cooke

SOUND DESIGN | Catfish the Cabaret
The George Tavern (14-23/08, 2023)

‘A high-energy, satirical musical comedy that takes a swipe at modern digital romance and reality TV culture…this immersive cabaret experience features a contemporary score composed by Deniz Dortok, blending original music, live-stream projections, and biting humour to explore online identity and media exploitation’ - xsist media

SCORE EDITOR | Lowest of the Low
Grimeborn Festival, Arcola Theatre (12-15/08, 2026)

OPERA

Director and Librettist
Mehmet Ergen
Composer and Musical Director
Tuluğ Tırpan
Musicians
Olivia Ziani (vln.), Cubby Howard (vcl.) & Tuluğ Tırpan (pf.)
Producers
Arcola Theatre and Yeni Opera

Dramaturg
Simon Reade
Translator
Zeynep Anacan
Lighting Designer
Richard Williamson
Original Costume Designer
Defne Özdoğan
Video Designer
Emir Gülerhan
Original Movement Director
Beyhan Murphy
Revival Movement Director
Seeta Indrani
Costume Supervisor
Bessy Mo
Design Placement
Yağmur Karabacak
Stage Manager
Jamie-Kubish-Wiles
Production Assistant
Matt Pierce

Cast
Oscar Castellino, Owain Gwynfryn, Lou Strenger, Ryan Wichert, Talha Kaya, Ömer Cem Çoltu

Production Photographer
Selin Şenköken

★★★★ ‘highly recommended…The gaunt chorales from the now long-dead, the incisive recitation and the nagging inquisitorial self-accusation will expand long after the opera’ - View from the Gods

★★★★ ‘an insightful, eye-opening piece of theatre that leaves an impression and inspires a real desire to learn more’ - London Fringe Theatre Reviews

★★★★ ‘a striking UK premiere… It does not simply ask the audience to watch; it asks us to consider how we are watching, what we are accepting and what we might be failing to notice’ - theatrereviews.design

How a controversial exposé about migrant workers became an unlikely opera - Financial Times

COMPOSER & LIBRETTIST | The Boy Who Went To Find Fear
RCM Tête à Tête: Fantasy & Fairytales, Britten Theatre (03-06/07, 2026)

Director
Bill Bankes-Jones
Conductor
Michael Rosewell
Designer
Sarah Jane Booth
Producers
Royal College of Music & Tête à Tête Opera
Lighting Designer
Coraline Eversdijk
Assistant Conductor/ Repétiteur
Paul McKenzie

Production Manager
Paul Tucker
Stage Manager
Katherine Verberne
Deputy Stage Manager
Zoe Rogers-Holman
Head of Costume
Zoe Hammond Joyce
Costume Assistant
Izzy Darby
Costume Technicians
Philip Engleheart & Emma Kirkup
Wigs, Hair and Make-up
Tom Licence
Set and Props Build and Painting
Britten Theatre Workshop
Head of Stage
Matthew Gorman
Staging and Lighting Technician
Dan Foggo
Lighting Programmer and Operator
Addie Gardner-Williams
Intimacy Coordinator
Scott Howland
Surtitle Operators
Amy Chau, Lottie Craven & Megan Hill
Live Sound Engineer
Reece Worrall-Lowe
Radio Mic Engineer
Alison Dale (Team Audio Ltd)
Radio Mic Assistant
Joel Allison
Audio-Visual Production Manager
Danny Holland

Cast
Emma Mclean, Rachel Howe, Bella Marslen, Katy Reilly, Tom Law, Alex Hardy, Olivia Forbes, Ustinya Malinina, Tim Burton & John Johnston

Orchestra
Sanni Talvitie (vln. I), Zoe Hirst (vln. II), Christy Hui (vla.), James Dew (vcl. I) Vivian Tupker (vcl. II), Ines Araujo (cb.), Esihle Mthethwa (fl./picc.), Lou Grune-Yanoff (ob./cor ang.), Robert Winup (cl./b. cl.), Phoebe Masters (Bsn), Kezia Lovick-Jones (S. sax/A. sax), Anton Ting (tpt.), Edward Hyde (tbn.), Joseph McLennan-Parish (tba.), Harry Gong (perc. I) Wilamena Dyer (perc. II), Olivia Yao (Hrp.) & Paul Mckenzie (fp.)

Photo Credits
Chris Christodoulou

...an eerie, striking frame for this fairy-tale world... Dortok’s musical textures, rich with percussion and digital effects, vividly paint the fantasy...’ - Opera magazine

‘...a strong impression, particularly characterful. [The] grungy, industrial electronic tinge... really added something dark and... fearful.’ - Richard Strivens, Artistic Director (MCYO)

COMPOSER, WRITER & PERFORMER| The Role of the Die
The International Anthony Burgess Foundation Manchester (06/09, 2024)

Joint Collaborators (composer/writer/performer)
Amit Manna, Gemma Dyer, Hannah Lam, Hannah Salter, Johanna Leung & Natalie Summers

MCYO Artistic Directors
Richard Strivens & Nina Whiteman
Guest Workshop Mentors
Rebecca Hurst, Kerry Firth, Adam Davies & Eli Randle
Camera Operators
James Walker & Sam Gee
Editing & Audio
Sam Gee

Artist selection panel in 2024
Elayce Ismail, Kerry Firth, Nina Whiteman & Richard Strivens

‘A brand new 15-minute opera devised over ten days by our 2024 Manchester Contemporary Youth Opera (MCYO) Collaborative Opera Lab. The team began work on 27 August, and developed the entire opera performances from scratch.’ - Nina Whiteman & Richard Strivens