Michael Bruce (composer)
{{Short description|Scottish composer and lyricist (born 1983)}}
{{Other people|Michael Bruce}}{{Infobox musical artist
| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| name = Michael Bruce
| birth_name =
| alias =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1983|11|22|df=y}}
| birth_place = Scotland
| genre = {{hlist|Theatre music|television score|film score}}
| occupation = {{hlist|Composer|lyricist}}
| instrument = Piano
| years_active = 2005–present
| label =
| website = [https://michaelbrucecomposer.com/ michaelbrucecomposer.com]
}}
Michael Bruce (born 22 November 1983){{Cite web |last=Bruce |first=Michael |date=2011-11-23 |title=Thanks for all the birthday wishes. Feeling loved :-) x |url=https://twitter.com/mbruce83/status/139117246281809920 |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=Twitter |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Sproull |first=Karen |date=2013-11-23 |title=Happy 30th birthday @MBruce83 |url=https://twitter.com/sprouttypants/status/403674850621136896 |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=Twitter |language=en}} 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.
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{{Cite web |last=Amer |first=Matthew |date=2009-10-19 |title=Introducing… Michael Bruce |url=https://officiallondontheatre.com/news/introducing-michael-bruce-107914/ |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=Official London Theatre |language=en-GB}} and first took to the stage in Scottish Ballet's production of The Nutcracker, going on to become Highland Dancing Champion.{{Cite web |title=All-Star Concerts of Michael Bruce & Lance Horne {{!}} WhatsOnStage |url=https://www.whatsonstage.com/west-end-theatre/news/all-star-concerts-of-michael-bruce-and-lance-horne_16018.html |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=www.whatsonstage.com |date=31 August 2009 |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |last=Bosanquet |first=Theo |date=2009-07-30 |title=Galas: Full Broadway Line-up, Concert for Bruce {{!}} WhatsOnStage |url=https://www.whatsonstage.com/west-end-theatre/news/galas-full-broadway-line-up-concert-for-bruce_16244.html |access-date=2022-10-02 |website=www.whatsonstage.com |language=en-GB}} Done with dancing, he took up table tennis in his teens, playing for the Scotland national team throughout Europe.{{Cite web |last=Dunn |first=Carrie |title=MICHAEL BRUCE: A LITTLE LESS ORDINARY To Showcase At The Apollo Theatre |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/MICHAEL-BRUCE-A-LITTLE-LESS-ORDINARY-To-Showcase-At-The-Apollo-Theatre-20090729 |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=BroadwayWorld.com |language=en}} He then studied as a singer/songwriter at Paul McCartney's Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.{{Cite web |date=2015-08-09 |title=About |url=https://michaelbrucecomposer.com/about/ |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=Michael Bruce |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Michael Bruce |url=https://www.nickhernbooks.co.uk/michael-bruce |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=Nick Hern Books |language=en-GB}}
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,{{Cite web |last=Baluch |first=Lalayn |date=2007-12-06 |title=Bruce wins Notes for The Stage musical theatre prize |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001637/20071206/243/0001 |url-access=registration |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=British Newspaper Archive |publisher=The Stage |quote=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.}} and also assisted on several national tours, cruise ships and pantomimes. 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.{{Cite web |title=Writing Music for the Stage |url=https://www.nickhernbooks.co.uk/writingmusicforthestage |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=Nick Hern Books |language=en-GB}}
He soon got his break as the first composer-in-residence at the Bush Theatre, when its artistic director was Josie Rourke.{{Cite web |title=Michael Bruce: Why every composer gains by writing music for plays |url=https://www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/michael-bruce-why-every-composer-gains-by-writing-music-for-plays |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=The Stage |language=En}} 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,{{Cite web |title=CORIOLANUS |url=https://www.donmarwarehouse.com/coriolanus/ |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=Donmar Warehouse |language=en-GB}} Les Liaisons Dangereuses (2016) with Dominic West and Janet McTeer{{Cite web |title=LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES |url=https://www.donmarwarehouse.com/les-liaisons-dangereuses/ |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=Donmar Warehouse |language=en-GB}} and Saint Joan (2016) with Gemma Arterton,{{Cite web |title=SAINT JOAN |url=https://www.donmarwarehouse.com/saint-joan/ |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=Donmar Warehouse |language=en-GB}} 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.{{Cite web |date=2015-04-22 |title=Judi Dench and the anarchists: why British theatre has gone election mad |url=http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/apr/22/british-theatre-general-election-2015-the-vote-early-days-absence-of-war |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}
File:Poster for the 2011 production of Much Ado About Nothing starring Catherine Tate and David Tennant.jpg 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.{{Cite web |last=Gari |date=2011-03-21 |title=REVIEW: Michael Bruce – Unwritten Songs |url=https://gariwellingham.co.uk/2011/03/21/review-michael-bruce-unwritten-songs/ |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=Gari Wellingham |language=en}}{{Citation |title=Unwritten Songs |url=https://open.spotify.com/album/1QQWNGMD4oSEVUB12UsZGi |language=en |access-date=2022-09-28}} 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.{{Cite book |last=Bruce |first=Michael |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/918924932 |title=Writing music for the stage : a practical guide for theatremakers |date=2016 |others=Josie Rourke |isbn=978-1-84842-393-0 |location=London |oclc=918924932}} 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."
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.{{Cite web |date=2021-04-04 |title=Romeo and Juliet review – National Theatre's first film is an ingenious triumph |url=http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2021/apr/04/romeo-and-juliet-review-national-theatre-sky-arts-josh-oconnor-jessie-buckley |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2021-04-11 |title=Romeo & Juliet review – Jessie Buckley and Josh O'Connor are outstanding |url=http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2021/apr/11/romeo-juliet-review-jessie-buckley-josh-oconnor-sky-national-theatre-simon-godwin-tamsin-greig |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Davis |first=Clive |title=Romeo and Juliet review — Jessie Buckley and Josh O'Connor create chemistry |newspaper=The Times |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/theatre-dance/article/romeo-and-juliet-review-jessie-buckley-and-josh-oconnor-create-chemistry-dwf0t5pq9 |access-date=2022-09-28 |issn=0140-0460}} 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 =
| class="wikitable"
!Year !Title !Notes |
| 2013
|Episode #3.1 |
| 2021
|National Theatre's first made-for-TV production starring Josh O'Connor and Jessie Buckley |
| rowspan="3" |2022
| |
| Hard Cell
|6 episodes; original songs |
| Great Performances
|Episode: "Keeping Company with Sondheim" |
| 2023
| rowspan="2" |Hallmark Channel original films |
| 2024 |
= Theatre productions =
| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year !Title !Venue |
| 2009
|Ed: The Musical |
| 2010
|The Great British Country Fete |
| 2010–2011 |
| 2011 |
| rowspan="9" |2012 |
| The Recruiting Officer |
| Blue Heart Afternoon |
| The Physicists
|Donmar Warehouse |
| Events While Guarding The Bofors Gun |
| Philadelphia, Here I Come!
|Donmar Warehouse |
| Relatively Speaking |
| Berenice
|Donmar Warehouse |
| Straight
|Crucible Theatre / Bush Theatre |
| rowspan="9" |2013
|Donmar Warehouse |
| Noises Off
|UK tour |
| Relatively Speaking
|Wyndham's Theatre |
| Strange Interlude
|National Theatre |
| A Little Hotel on the Side
|Theatre Royal Bath |
| Candide |
| The Machine |
| The Winslow Boy
|Old Vic Theatre / Roundabout Theatre Company |
| Coriolanus
|Donmar Warehouse |
| rowspan="4" |2014
|Old Vic Theatre |
| Privacy
|Donmar Warehouse |
| The Two Gentlemen of Verona
|Royal Shakespeare Company |
| rowspan="2" |Hay Fever
|Theatre Royal Bath |
| rowspan="5" |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 |
| rowspan="4" |2016
|Sunset at the Villa Thalia |National Theatre |
| Privacy |
| Les Liaisons Dangereuses
|Donmar Warehouse / Booth Theatre |
| Saint Joan
|Donmar Warehouse |
| rowspan="2" |2017
|National Theatre |
| The Lady from the Sea
|Donmar Warehouse |
| rowspan="5" |2018 |
| The Importance of Being Earnest |
| Antony & Cleopatra
|National Theatre |
| Measure for Measure
|Donmar Warehouse |
| Timon of Athens
|Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 2019
|National Theatre |
| 2020
|Timon of Athens |
| 2021
|The Illusionist |
| 2022
|Much Ado About Nothing |National Theatre |
Accolades
= Awards =
- 2007: Notes for The Stage competition run by Notes from New York and The Stage
- 2009: MTM Awards – Most Promising New Musical for Ed: The Musical{{Cite web |title=Ed Wins Two Edinburgh Fringe Musical Awards {{!}} WhatsOnStage |url=https://www.whatsonstage.com/west-end-theatre/news/ed-wins-two-edinburgh-fringe-musical-awards_16055.html |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=www.whatsonstage.com |date=25 August 2009 |language=en-GB}}
= Nominations =
- 2009: MTM Awards – Best Lyrics for a New Musical for Ed: The Musical
- 2009: MTM Awards – Best Music for a New Musical for Ed: The Musical
- 2013: WhatsOnStage Awards – Best Original Music for The Recruiting Officer{{Cite web |title=Full list: Winners announced of the 2013 Whatsonstage.com Awards {{!}} WhatsOnStage |url=https://www.whatsonstage.com/west-end-theatre/news/full-list-winners-announced-of-the-2013-whatsonsta_1163.html |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=www.whatsonstage.com |language=en-GB}}
- 2021: Online Film & Television Association TV Awards – Best Music Composition in A Motion Picture, Limited, or Anthology for Romeo & Juliet{{Cite web |title=25th Annual TV Awards (2020-21) - Online Film & Television Association |url=http://www.oftaawards.com/television-awards/25th-annual-tv-awards-2020-21/ |access-date=2022-09-28 |language=en-US}}
Publications
- Writing Music for the Stage: A Practical Guide for Theatremakers (2016), with a foreword by Josie Rourke: {{ISBN|9781848423930|3=}}
- [https://www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/michael-bruce-why-every-composer-gains-by-writing-music-for-plays "Why every composer gains by writing music for plays"], an article published in The Stage on 23 June 2016
- [https://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/news/privacy-music-new-york-michael-bruce_41318.html "How I wrote the music for Privacy"], an article published on WhatsOnStage.com on 19 July 2016
References
External links
- [https://michaelbrucecomposer.com/ Official website]
- {{Twitter|id=mbruce83|name=Michael Bruce}}
- {{IMDb name|id=nm7365442|name=Michael Bruce}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce, Michael}}
Category:Alumni of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
Category:21st-century Scottish songwriters
Category:21st-century Scottish male composers
Category:Scottish male songwriters