Simon Slater

Simon is an Olivier Award and Ivor Novello Award nominated composer who has composed over 300 original scores for film, TV, theatre and radio. These include scores for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the BBC, Channel 5, the National Theatre and Broadway. Simon studied at Goldsmiths, University of London and is a skilled multi-instrumentalist, playing soprano, alto and tenor sax, clarinet, piano, accordion, guitar, ukulele, mandolin and double bass. Simon was delighted to have been invited by the National Theatre to work on 'Amadeus' in the Autumn of 2016 as musical director and composer of additional music in Peter Shaffer's iconic play about Mozart and Salieri. Michael Longhurst directed this production, with live orchestral accompaniment from the Southbank Sinfonia. The production has recently returned to the stage this year. Simon's television credits include two two-hour specials of Dalziel and Pascoe ('Houdini's Ghost' and 'Demons on our Shoulders'), both directed by Patrick Lau and produced by Annie Tricklebank. He also scored the TV film 'Impact Earth' for Channel 5 and Darlow Smithson Productions, directed by Keith Boak. Other TV credits include 'Inquisition' for Channel 5 starring Derek Jacobi, and 'Hunting Venus' for Yorkshire TV, directed by Martin Clunes. For radio, Simon's music was heard on BBC Radio 4's 'The Report', a hard-hitting documentary series. Other radio credits include 8 Days in July about the 2005 bombings in London, and the award-winning 'The Blood Libel', both directed by Hugh Levinson for the BBC. Theatre work includes 'Constellations' by Nick Payne, which premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in 2012, before transferring to the Duke of York's Theatre in the West End. In 2015, 'Constellations' premiered on Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Ruth Wilson. The play received three Drama League Award nominations (Best Play, Best Actor for Gyllenhaal and Best Actress for Wilson), while Simon received an Ivor Novello Award nomination for his score. In January 2014, Simon starred in Douglas Post's one-man thriller 'Bloodshot' at the St James's Theatre. Simon's performance as Derek, a photographer down on his luck, was described as an "epic, virtuoso performance". In 2015, Simon's music was heard in the UK premiere of 'Carmen Disruption' at the Almeida Theatre which was directed by Michael Longhurst. Simon has also scored many productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company, including 'King Lear', 'Romeo and Juliet' directed by Neil Bartlett, which had a sell-out national tour and season at Stratford. Simon has a strong working relationship with the director Ed Hall, having composed the music for many of his plays at the Hampstead Theatre, including 'Wonderland' by Beth Steel, 'Raving', by Simon Paisley Day and 'Cell Mates' by Simon Gray. Simon is based in South West London and is a Member of the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters.