Tom Cooper
Tom Cooper is a director working across plays, musical theatre and opera. He’s also a dramaturg, lyricist, acting pedagogue, and MT academic researcher.
Tom studied English and Philosophy at University of York; MA Directing for Theatre at Goldsmiths College, Unviersity of London; then more recently, the M.Ed Learning and Teaching in the Performing Arts at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He became a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 20212, and a Senior Fellow in 2020.
Tom was an assistant director for the Young Vic Theatre (London), the Haymarket Basingstoke, English National Opera, Opera North, Scottish Opera. As a writer, he was a member of Royal Court Young Writers’ Programme, and more recently, as a lyricst, participated in two-years of weekly workshops with BOOK Music Lyrics (BML), in London, for which he was funded by Creative Scotland.
Tom composed the music, co-wrote lyrics, and co-directed the new musical The Glasgow Poisoner (with book-writer, co-lyricist and co-director Jen McGregor) (Òran Mór / OneRen / Ayr Gaiety). Other directing in Scotland includes Aladdie by Fraser Boyle (Gaiety Theatre, Ayr); Shonagh Murray’s musical Armour (Òran Mór / Traverse); Who Pays the Piper? (Òran Mór); Part of the Picture (a play with songs, based on interview with north sea offshore workers, Pleasance, Edinburgh, also as writer); The World Goes Round (Wild Cabaret, Glasgow); Gianni Schicchi (Opera Bohemia, Scottish tour); La bohème (Clyde Opera Group). Other directing includes Brecht’s The Visions of Simone Machard (Hackney Empire and tour); the UK premiere of Adam Guettel’s song cycle Myths and Hymns with Caroline Sheen and Ashleigh Gray (Finborough Theatre, London); A Day by the Sea (also Finborough); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Blenheim Palace Gardens); La traviata (UK tour); the devised L’antologia di Spoon River and Stefano Benni’s Astaroth (Rapallo Festival, Italy); Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me (Upstairs at the Gatehouse); Judith (Pleasance, London); and large-scale community productions of Henry IV parts one and two (York Shakespeare Project).
He has also worked extensively in the development of new plays and musicals. This has included dramaturgy for numerous projects, as well as working as a script reader for the Bush Theatre, the Royal Court Theatre, and the King’s Cross New Writing Award. He was Literary Associate (Musical Theatre) for the Finborough in London, and read new musical libretti for the Donmar Warehouse.
He has taught and/or directed productions for Mountview Academy, Oxford School of Drama, Arts University Bournemouth, University of Cumbria, and London College of Music. In Glasgow he was Head of Acting and Programme Leader for BA Musical Theatre at GAMTA for a number of years.
As an academic researcher, his work has been published in the the journals Studies in Musical Theatre, New Theatre Quarterly and The Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism. He has served as an external consultant for a range of organisations including University of Winchester, the National Theatre of Scotland, and Mercury Musical Developments.
At the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, his directing has included Big Fish and A Little Night Music (both for MA Musical Theatre at Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh Fringe); a BAMT3 actor-musican production of The Twentififth Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee; and large-scale multi-artform retellings of Twelfth Night (The Yellow Club) and Carroll’s Alice stories (Curiouser and Curiouser) for Junior Conservatoire.