Leo Doulton

Director (Opera, Immersive, Theatre) Writer Librettist Game Maker

Leo Doulton is a director and writer, mostly working in opera and theatre. Their practice typically combines different forms, often including opera in some way.

They are influenced by various kinds of through-sung drama, including Noh theatre and musical theatre. Their recent work has increasingly included elements of improvisation, interactivity, and game-based theatre.

Their work often includes elements of the fantastical as a way to consider larger forces in our world, while continuing their ongoing love of comedy and heightened dramatic forms and styles from Shakespeare to Noh theatre.

Their ​past work has been nominated for an Offie Award, the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award, and praised for its "punchy, energetic staging" (Opera Magazine) and for being "fresh... unlocks the mysteries" (The Guardian). It has been presented at the Royal Opera House, Scottish Opera, and the Grimeborn Festival, among others.

Credits

OPERA

Director/Creator, Come Bargain With Uncanny Things (Work in Progress), Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival, 2 performances, 2021
Director/Creator, We Sing/I Sang, Tour (Talos Science Fiction Theatre Festival, Tête à Tête the Opera Festival, Knaïve Theatre Digital Lyceum), 6 performances, 2019-2020
Director/Librettist, The Perfect Opera, Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival & Paradise Green at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, 2 weeks, 2019
Director, Don Jo!, Arcola Theatre/Grimeborn Festival, 4 nights, 2019
Director, Man & God, Bloomsbury Studio, 2 nights, 2019
Director/Translator, The Tsar Wants His Photograph Taken, Bloomsbury Theatre, 2 nights, 2019
Director, Virtually Opera Series 2, Online, 2017-2018
Director, The Left Fang, Online, 2018
Director, Virtually Opera Series 1, Online, 2017

THEATRE

Director, Macbeth, Theatre@41, 1 week, 2021
Director, Macbeth, Theatre@41, 1 week, 2020 (Postponed)
Director, Antony and Cleopatra, John Cooper Studio, 1 week, 2019
Director, Empty, Waterloo East, 1 night, 2017
Director, A Speaks, Camden People's Theatre, 1 night, 2017

OTHER WRITING

Translator, The Tsar Wants His Photograph Taken, Scottish Opera, 2 nights, 2021
Librettist, Opera Dots: Pagliacci, Royal Opera House, 2 performances, 2019
Librettist, Reel, APT Gallery, 1 performance, 2018

Training

2018, Noh Training Project, Royal Holloway University of London
2016-2017, MA in Opera Making (Librettist), Guildhall School of Music and Drama
2016, Springboard, Young Vic
2012-2015, BA History, University College London (1st)

Location

London

Experience

5-10 years

Art forms / Disciplines

  • Gaming and interactivity
  • Literature
  • Music
  • Opera
  • Theatre / Live perfomance

What I do

  • Devising
  • Directing
  • Dramaturgy
  • Facilitating
  • Game design
  • Music - Can learn by ear
  • Music - Can Read
  • Music - Singing
  • Music Composition
  • Site Responsive/Immersive
  • Teaching / Coaching
  • Theatre making
  • Working within a Community / with community participants
  • Workshopping & Development
  • Writing

Additional Languages

German (B1 CEFR), Italian (B1 CEFR)

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