L. Cosmetatos

I like strange, beautiful, difficult art which communicates strange, beautiful and difficult experiences in a way that reaches people and invites them into a state of quiet and exhilarating clarity. There is no theme, medium, genre or context in which I think this can't be done. Unfortunately, it's impossible to talk about expansive miracles without sounding really pretentious! So I can only change nothing and apologise.

A lot of the time, I work as a singer and MC, both of which give me the perfect opportunity to create a sacred little world for us all to exist in for a bit; I also do a lot of writing and translating (mostly Beowulf, for some reason, but also Russian absurdist writer Daniil Kharms, who is fantastic and underrated!). In monologues, I like naturalism and humour mixed with bizarre and poetic imagery; I like dialogue pacey, spontaneous and thoughtlike. For me, directing is much more about facilitating other people's connection through their medium - whether they're acting, or on the creative crew - with the text and its world, and allowing that to bloom in harmony with the rest of the cast and crew, and within the logistical confines of reality.

My preferred pronouns are currently pending due to an ongoing crisis of transsexualism. I am grateful for forebearance; in the meantime, I will take he/they gladly, and she with graceful resignation.

Credits

WRITER, PERFORMER, COMPOSER/SOUND DESIGNER, 'Quiz Night @ Vaginus Hemmingway's Cabaret Rathole', The Pen Theatre, 1 night (WIP) 2023; Camden People's Theatre, 2 nights, 2023; The Bee's Mouth, Brighton, 3 nights (WIP) 2024; FUSEBOX, FUSE International Festival, 1 night, 2024; still in progress, with high hopes for 2025!

DIRECTOR & SCRIPT ADAPTATION, 'Vermillion' by Merlin Stevens - short film, shot March-April 2024

MC & ORGANISER, 'Big Scratch @ The Famous Cock' - fortnightly variety night at The Famous Cock Tavern, July 2022-Euros 2024 (football won); returning in January 2025

DIRECTOR, 'The Elagabalia' by Oakley Swinson, The Actors Theatre, Brighton Fringe, 3 nights 2024

ACTOR (Plato), 'Plato the Meathead' by Oakley Swinson, Etcetera Theatre, 3 nights, 2023

DIRECTOR & CO-WRITER, 'Pearly Gates: A Kafkaesque Romcom in Heaven' by Calum Macleod, L. Cosmetatos & Archie Williams, TheSpace, 11 nights, EdFringe 2022

SCRIPT-ADVISOR/DRAMATURG, new one-man show in development by Shaun Kitchener Bentley, one-off session, July 2022

DIRECTOR, 'Just Sayin'' by Tina Zucco, Brighton Fringe, Rotunda Theatre, 2 nights - runner-up in FUSE International's Best Theatre Play category; Camden Fringe, The Hope Theatre, 3 nights, 2022

DIRECTOR, 'Christmas Stockings' by Paul Stone at XPOSED new writing night, 13/02/2022, Southwark Playhouse

DIRECTOR, 'True Crime' by Sam Went for Quintuple L Productions, podcast to be recorded Jan-Feb 2022
__
DIRECTOR, 'The Parnassus Players', ADC Theatre, 2 nights, 2021
DIRECTOR, 'Almost Romeo & Juliet', ADC Theatre, originally 4 nights but adapted into a film on what was meant to be our first night due to Lockdown! 2020
DIRECTOR, 'An Essay on Cat and Dog', Pembroke New Cellars, 2 nights, 2019
DIRECTOR & SET/COSTUME DESIGNER 'Pearly Gates: A Kafkaesque Romcom in Heaven', ADC Theatre, 4 nights, 2019
DIRECTOR, 'Market Magic', ADC Theatre, 4 nights, 2019
ACTOR (The Woman, soprano), 'The Last Hotel', 3 nights, 2019
ACTOR (Caroline, mezzo-soprano), 'Rust: The Musical', 2 weeks, EdFringe 2019
ACTOR (Alice), 'Mosquitoes', ADC Theatre, 5 nights, 2018
SET DESIGNER, Grave Concern, ADC Theatre, 4 nights, 2019
__
CHILDREN'S CHORUS, 'Hansel und Gretel', Opera Holland Park, 2 weeks, 2009
CHILDREN'S CHORUS (acting only), 'The Magic Flute', ENO, 1 month, 2009
CHILDREN'S CHORUS, 'Boris Godunov', ENO, 9 performances, 2008
CHILDREN'S CHORUS, 'Cavelleria Rusticana & Pagliacci', ENO, 10 performances, 2008

Training

Eloping from my degree with student theatre is the only reason I found out how much I love all this!

Royal College of Music Junior Department, 2013-2017
- voice, French Horn and composition.

The thing I've learned the most from is busking; I do unamplified & unaccompanied singing, so I essentially need to collaborate with the buildings to be heard, and fit the kind of songs I sing each time both to the location and the people in it. It's taught me loads of practical skills, both as a performer and a person - from drawing people in to finding my own style - and I could not be happier for finding it.