Nick Powell is a British musician, composer and

sound designer In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

. He has worked extensively in theatre on productions in the West End and on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

, and for companies including the

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

, the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

, the

National Theatre of Scotland The National Theatre of Scotland, established in 2006, is the national theatre company of Scotland. The company has no theatre building of its own; instead it tours work to theatres, village halls, schools and site-specific locations, both at h ...

, the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

, and the

Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit Off-West End theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage, Josie Rourke and Michael Longhurst have all served as artistic direc ...

Theatre career

In 1993, Powell founded the theatre company Suspect Culture alongside director Graham Eatough and playwright David Greig; composing music for fourteen of their productions. In 2010, Powell co-wrote ''Get Santa!'' alongside writer/director

Anthony Neilson Anthony Neilson (born 1967, Edinburgh) is a Scottish playwright and director. He is known for his collaborative way of writing and workshopping his plays. Much of his work is characterised by the exploration of sex and violence. Neilson has bee ...

; the play premiered at the Royal Court Theatre. Powell continued his collaboration with Nielson on ''Alice in Wonderland ''at the

Royal Lyceum Theatre The Royal Lyceum Theatre is a 658-seat theatre in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, named after the Theatre Royal Lyceum and English Opera House, the residence at the time of legendary Shakespearean actor Henry Irving. It was built in 1883 by a ...

, Edinburgh and ''Unreachable'' at the Royal Court Theatre. In the same year Powell won the Spanish

Premios Max The Max Awards for the Performing Arts (Los Premios Max de las Artes Escénicas, ), commonly known as the Premios Max, are presented annually to honour professionals and organisations in Spain for their contributions to the performing arts. The aw ...

Award for Best Composition in Scenic Arts for his work with Andrés Lima and Animalario on the show ''Urtain''. Powell composed the music for the National Theatre's critically acclaimed production of ''Othello'', directed by

Nicholas Hytner Sir Nicholas Robert Hytner ( ; born 7 May 1956) is an English theatre director, film director, and film producer. He was previously the Artistic Director of London's National Theatre. His major successes as director include ''Miss Saigon'', '' ...

. He was also the composer and sound designer for the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of '' Dunsinane'', directed by Roxana Silbert. Powell was sound designer of the Royal Shakespeare Company adaptations of Hilary Mantel’s

Wolf Hall ''Wolf Hall'' is a 2009 historical novel by English author Hilary Mantel, published by Fourth Estate, named after the Seymour family's seat of Wolfhall, or Wulfhall, in Wiltshire. Set in the period from 1500 to 1535, ''Wolf Hall'' is a sym ...

and

Bring Up the Bodies ''Bring Up the Bodies'' is an historical novel by Hilary Mantel, sequel to the award-winning ''Wolf Hall'' (2009), and part of a trilogy charting the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell, the powerful minister in the court of King Henry VIII. It won ...

; adapted by Mike Poulten and directed by

Jeremy Herrin Jeremy Herrin (born 19 January 1970) is an English theatre director. He is a Founding Director of Second Half Productions with Alan Stacey and Rob O’Rahilly. He was previously Artistic Director of the British touring theatre company; Headlo ...

. The productions were part of the 2013-14 RSC season, followed by a West End run at the

Aldwych Theatre The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Aldwych in the City of Westminster, central London. It was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200 on three levels. History Origins The theatre was constructed in th ...

. In 2015 The double-bill was re-titled ''Wolf Hall, Parts 1 and 2'' for a Broadway run at the

Winter Garden Theatre The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Originally designed by architect William Albert Swasey, it opened in 1911. The Winter Garden's current des ...

. Powell worked again with Jeremy Herrin on the UK premiere of

The Nether ''The Nether'' is a sci-fi crime drama play written by American playwright Jennifer Haley. The play received its world premiere at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in California in March 2013, after being first developed at the Eugene O'Neill Theate ...

by Jennifer Haley, a co-production between the Royal Court and Headlong. Following its run at the Royal Court in 2014, the production had a West End run at the Duke of York’s Theatre in 2015. In 2015 Powell created the music for ''Lanark: A Life in Three Acts'' at the

Edinburgh International Festival The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially european classical music, classical music) and ...

collaborating with, amongst others, Alex Lee,

Nick McCarthy Nicholas John McCarthy (born 13 December 1974) is an English-German musician. His main focus is on songwriting and song production. He is also a guitarist, singer and keyboard player. McCarthy was a founding member of the Glasgow-based band Fr ...

, Ted Milton, Sarah Willson, Chin Keeler and Lucy Wilkins. In 2017, he composed the music for

59 Productions Fifty-Nine Productions (59 Productions) is a design studio with offices located in London and New York City. Origins 59 Productions was founded in Edinburgh by Leo Warner (shortly joined by co-founder Mark Grimmer). Their early public projec ...

adaptation of '' City of Glass'' by

Paul Auster Paul Benjamin Auster (February 3, 1947 – April 30, 2024) was an American writer, novelist, memoirist, poet, and filmmaker. His notable works include '' The New York Trilogy'' (1987), '' Moon Palace'' (1989), '' The Music of Chance'' (1990), ' ...

, adapted for the stage by Duncan Macmillan and directed by Leo Warner at Home Manchester and the

Lyric Hammersmith The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a nonprofit theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London."About the Lyric" > "History" ''Lyric'' official website. Retrieved January 2024. Background The Lyric Theatre ...

. That same year Powell was the composer and sound designer on '' The Ferryman'', written by

Jez Butterworth Jeremy Butterworth (born March 4, 1969) is a British playwright, screenwriter, and film director. He has gained recognition for his unique voice in contemporary theater, often blending themes of myth, folklore, and realism. He has received a T ...

and directed by

Sam Mendes Sir Samuel Alexander Mendes (born 1 August 1965) is a British film and stage director, producer, and screenwriter. In 2000, Mendes was appointed a CBE for his services to drama, and he was Knight Bachelor, knighted in the 2020 New Year Honours ...

, it opened at the Royal Court Theatre, followed by a West End run at the ''

Gielgud Theatre The Gielgud Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, at the corner of Rupert Street, in the City of Westminster, London. The house currently has 994 seats on three levels. The theatre was designed by W. G. R. Sprague and ...

''. The production transferred to Broadway the following year for which Powell was nominated for Best Sound Design of a Play at the Tony Awards and won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Sound Design. In 2018, Powell composed the music for the National Theatre's production of '' The Lehman Trilogy'', which went on to transfer to Broadway and the West End in 2019. Powell was nominated for Best Sound Designer at the Olivier Awards and for Outstanding Music in a Play at the Drama Desk Awards.

Film and TV work

Powell has written extensively for the screen including the

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

winning documentary '' Death in Gaza''. He was also the co-composer for the BBC series '' Lip Service'' and he scored the Spanish feature films ''Dispongo de Barcos'' and ''Gente En Sitios'' for writer/director Juan Cavestany. In addition, he has scored three of the films of visual artist

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...

, including co-writing music for ''Socialism Today'' with

Lætitia Sadier Lætitia Sadier (born 6 May 1968), also known as Seaya Sadier, is a French musician best known as a founding member of the London-based avant-pop band Stereolab. She was born in the east of Paris and spent time in the US as a child. In 1996, whi ...

. Powell also worked as Music Consultant on

' film ''

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

''.

Music career

Powell has toured and recorded with many bands including

McAlmont & Butler McAlmont & Butler are an English Rock music, rock/soul music duo, comprising singer David McAlmont and guitarist Bernard Butler. History Formed in 1994, David McAlmont and Bernard Butler had already experienced individual success: Butler as t ...

, Strangelove and Astrid. He is one half of OSKAR, who have performed live scores for three PRADA fashion shows in Milan, exhibited installations at the V&A and the CCA Glasgow as well as producing two albums ''Air Conditioning'' and ''LP:2''. ''Walls Fall Down'' was Powell's first solo album release. The album featured numerous guest players including Alex Lee, Sarah Willson, Chin Keeler, Lucy Wilkins, Una Palliser, Rob Spriggs, and Calina De La Mar and was released in March 2021. The album track, "Out of Key", has music video featuring Powell’s daughter, and featured in Juan Cavestany's film 2020 Spanish film, shot during the COVID lockdown, ''Madrid, Int.'' 2021 also saw the release of Powell's soundtrack to Spanish feature film ''Un Efecto Óptico'' and his solo piano soundtrack to '' The Lehman Trilogy''.

Further work

In 2016, Powell was commissioned by The City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

to create ''Cold Calling: The Arctic Project''; in which a 20 piece orchestra joined actors performing against a backdrop of Arctic landscapes. Powell scored ‘Creation’ a stop-motion gallery installation as part of an ongoing project with visual artist Jessica Albarn in 2016. Powell composed the music for the 59 Production’s ''Bloom'', a multimedia installation in Edinburgh’s

St Andrew Square St Andrew Square is a garden square in Edinburgh, Scotland located at the east end of George Street. The construct of St Andrew Square began in 1772,Lang, p.124 as the first part of the New Town, designed by James Craig. Within six years of ...

to mark the opening of the 70th

. In October 2017 Powell joined Alex Lee in composing music for 59's ''Reflections''; an animation projected in the Guggenhaim Museum, Bilbao.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Nick Living people British male musicians British film score composers British male film score composers British record producers British sound designers 21st-century British composers Year of birth missing (living people)