Singer-songwriter, Matt Maltese, has been announced as the composer for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s (RSC) upcoming stage production of Twelfth Night which will play in Stratford-upon-Avon (UK) from 05 December 2024 – 18 January 2025.
Following the success of his latest album, Songs That Aren’t Mine, which was released in March of this year, Matt will now close off 2024 with a stage composition debut. For the RSC’s theatre production of this bittersweet Shakespeare classic, Matt has written new music which will be performed live, on-stage every night, by members of the Twelfth Night company. He has also written an exclusive Christmas song as part of the composition.
Twelfth Night is directed by Prasanna Puwanarajah and features Samuel West (Slow Horses, All Creatures Great and Small) as Malvolio, Gwyneth Keyworth (To Kill A Mockingbird in the West End) as Viola, Bally Gill (Slow Horses, Interview with the Vampire) as Orsino and Freema Agyeman (Doctor Who, New Amsterdam) as Olivia.
Matt Maltese said: “Writing for theatre has always been a holy grail of mine, and for this to be my first experience of doing so I count myself incredibly lucky. It was a wonderfully unique experience writing for words already filled with so much tragedy, comedy and of course so much history, and Prasanna created such a graciously open space for me to write what came naturally. Not to mention this was a great excuse to write a misery laden Christmas song. I know Prasanna and the RSC will put on an incredibly moving production, and I hope the music does it justice!”
Director, Prasanna Puwanarajah, said: “Matt is one of the most exciting and skilful recording artists in the UK, and his songs are heavenly, gorgeous expressions of a mind exploring love, loss and forms of togetherness in a complex world. I can’t describe how thrilling it’s been to work with him on the songs and music for Twelfth Night, and to be able to work on this play with such an enquiring, instinctive and lovely artist. He’s found such beauty and humanity in Shakespeare’s words, and his music in the show is cut through with his trademark delicacy and unique sonic heartbeat. I can’t wait to share his work with audiences as part of the fabric of Twelfth Night, and I feel so lucky that he’s been able to fit us into his busy recording and international touring schedule. Thanks Matt.”
From November, the London based artist will also headline shows in Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand.
Matt Maltese’s viral single, As The World Caves In has over 400 million streams on Spotify, and he is also well known for songs such as Intolewd, Everyone Adores You (at least I do) and Krystal. His music currently receives over 7 million monthly listeners, and he is the founder of the independent record label, Last Recordings of Earth.
There are currently no plans for the music in Twelfth Night to be available for streaming. The songs can only be heard live in Stratford-upon-Avon as part of the show.
For more information of Twelfth Night, visit https://www.rsc.org.uk/twelfth-night/
