Laurence Owen is a British composer, musician, comedian and actor.
Early career
Laurence Owen's career began in the 1990s as a child actor. He had notable credits in the feature film ''
Wilde'' (playing
Vyvyan Wilde opposite
Stephen Fry) and the BBC period drama
Berkeley Square, in which he had a recurring role.
Composer
Owen attended
Brighton University from which he graduated with First Class Honours in Digital Music and Sound Arts.
[University of Brighton]
"Digital Music & Sound Arts graduate wins award"
25 November 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
Since 2011 he has written music for a number of stage and film projects, including several short pieces for film festivals. In 2013, he won the Früh Kölsch Audience Award for Best Music in a Short Film for his score for the animated short ''White Morning''.
[British Film Council]
"Film detail: White Morning"
Retrieved 18 November 2014. In the Autumn of the same year he provided sound design for 1927 Productions' ''Golem'', which was first performed at the
Salzburg Festival before transferring to the
Young Vic
The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth.
The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 201 ...
, London, and the
Théâtre de la Ville, Paris. For his work on Golem, he was nominated for Best Theatre Sound at the Pro Sound Awards 2015.
Owen was composer and musical director of the live music and cartoon theatre show ''Cat & Mouse'', a 1927 and Village Underground co-production which was also part of the 2017
Latitude Festival
The Latitude Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Henham Park, near Southwold, Suffolk, England. It was first held in July 2006 and has been held every year since, apart from 2020, when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 ...
.
In 2019, he acted as arranger and music producer of songs by
Richard Thomas (musician) for the
National Theatre of Scotland production ''My Left / Right Foot - The Musical''.
Music
From 2009 to 2012, Owen played bass for
The Indelicates appearing on their albums
David Koresh Superstar and ''Diseases of England''.
His concept album ''South of the River'' was released at the beginning of 2012. ''Genre Fiction'', an album of orchestral compositions, was released in 2018.
Since 2016, he has played bass for musical impressionists
Jess Robinson and
Christina Bianco
Christina Bianco is an American actress, singer and impressionist. Bianco is best known for her theatrical work, television appearances and YouTube videos in which she impersonates celebrities, both singing and speaking.
Career
In 2015, Bianco ...
.
Comedy
While a member of The Indelicates, Owen had experimented with humour, singing and accompanying himself on the guitar. He did not believe this was well received by audiences at music gigs, so he developed and took an act to comedy bills.
He has been a regular on the London
cabaret circuit since late 2011,
providing short turns on variety and comedy nights. In addition to solo performances, he has also contributed to a number of comedy collectives, including
Adam Larter
Adam Larter is a British alternative comedian and founder of Weirdos Comedy Club.
Larter is most often associated with Weirdos but he is also a solo performer whose work is noted for its "lunacy" and uncompromising anarchy that often defies descri ...
's
Weirdos Comedy Club for which he has appeared in two 'alternative pantomimes' among other productions. As well as acting in these shows he has provided original music; recordings of songs from the pantomimes have been issued as digital downloads with the proceeds donated to
Great Ormond Street Hospital.
He has also appeared in full-length shows as part of the
Edinburgh Fringe Festival
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...
. In the first, 'Owen and Bettesworth Sung and Unsung' (2012), he performed with stand-up comedian Oli Bettesworth. They made a "mini sit-com" in daily instalments to accompany this and released it via YouTube and other media.
His first solo show was ''Lullabies of Pervland''(2014). An album of the same title was made available to complement it, featuring studio versions of most of the songs from the set.
His contribution to the 2015 Fringe, ''Cinemusical'' won him that year's
Malcolm Hardee Award for 'Act Most Likely To Make A Million Quid'.
[Hardee, Malcolm]
"Awards"
Retrieved 25 September 2015.
His other Edinburgh Fringe shows include ''Cinemusical High'' in 2016, and ''The Time Machine'' in 2017, which he performed with his wife and co-writer, Lindsay Sharman.
In 2014 he was a finalist
[Chappel, Ed]
"WeGotTickets MCA Final 2014 results"
26 April 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2014. at the Musical Comedy Awards.
Personal life
He is married to comedian, actress and writer
Lindsay Sharman
Lindsay Sharman is a British writer, comedian and actress.
Career
Sharman began her comedy career in 2009. After reaching the finals of the 2010 Funny Women awards, she took two shows to the 2011 Edinburgh Festival Fringe - Giants Of Comedy and ...
.
Discography
Albums
Studio
* ''South of the River'' (2012)
* ''Lullabies of Pervland'' (2014)
* ''Cinemusical'' (2015)
* ''Cinemusical High'' (2016)
* ''The Time Machine'' (2017)
* ''Genre Fiction'' (2018)
Cast recordings
* ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' (2011)
Soundtracks
* ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' (score) (2011)
Compilations
* ''Sung'' (2012)
* ''Bad Hair Years'' (2016)
EPs
* ''Yarnripper'' (2010)
* ''Offcuts'' (2011)
* ''Carmelite'' (2012)
* ''The David Lynch EP'' (2014)
* ''Weirdos For Christmas Number 1'' (2015)
Singles
* “Kith and Kin (A Christmas Song)” (2012)
* "Baltimore Whores" (2013)
* "The Ballad of Maddy Ferguson / The David Lynch Guide To Coffee" (2013)
* "A Christmas Tail: Weirdos Panto 2014" (2014)
* "Disappointing Sequel" (2015)
* "The Christmas Movie Song" (2015)
* "When She's There" (2019)
References
External links
Official website (as entertainer)Official website (as soundtrack composer)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Owen, Laurence
1989 births
Living people
British comedians
British composers
British male stage actors