GRANT OLDING

From his studio between the Black Mountains and the Golden Valley award winning composer, lyricist and multi-instrumentalist Grant Olding writes and produces music for the stage, television, film, musical theatre and dance. Having trained as an actor at the Central School and Speech and Drama, Grant was the Bridewell Theatre Company's resident composer from 2003 to 2004, and is now a proud Associate Artist at Shakespeare's Globe and Curve in Leicester.

Composition highlights in theatre include his many collaborations with Nicholas Hytner both at the Bridge Theatre: RICHARD II, LA BELLE SAUVAGE, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, TWO LADIES, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, ALYS ALWAYS, YOUNG MARX and at the National Theatre: TIMON OF ATHENS, TRAVELLING LIGHT, GREAT BRITAIN, ENGLAND PEOPLE VERY NICE, THE ALCHEMIST, SOUTHWARK FAIR, THE MAN OF MODE and most notably writing and performing the songs in ONE MAN TWO GUVNORS, the National Theatre's smash hit comedy starring James Corden, which ran for over three years in the West End and Broadway where Grant was nominated for a Tony Award and won the Drama Desk Award for best music in a play.

Grant has also written many scores for the Royal Shakespeare Company including THE ROVER, THE FANTASTIC FOLLIES OF MRS RICH, and THE HYPOCRITE as well as DON QUIXOTE and OPPENHEIMER which both transferred to the West End.

In 2013 Grant wrote the songs and score for the animated feature film SAVING SANTA starring Martin Freeman and Tim Curry, and for the same creative team in 2021/22 Grant scored the Warner Brother's animated TV series MOLEY starring Warwick Davis, Stanley Tucci, Gemma Arterton and Richard E Grant.

Other television highlights include scoring the film CHRISTMAS CAROLE starring Suranne Jones for Sky, three series of UPSTART CROW for the BBC and two series of MARLEY'S GHOSTS for UKTV Gold. Also for the BBC he has scored sitcoms including I WANT MY WIFE BACK and THE BLEAK OLD SHOP OF STUFF, as well as one off films like A CHRISTMAS CAROL GOES WRONG and THE PACT.

In 2016 Grant's first full length dance piece JEKYLL & HYDE premiered at the Old Vic Theatre, directed and choreographed by Drew McOnie, and in 2021 the pair's first classical ballet MERLIN premiered with the Northern Ballet Company and in 2022 was broadcast in cinemas.

Grant is also the musical director for Hay Shantymen

Latest News...

Merlin Original Soundtrack Release on Air Edel Records

It was my great pleasure in 2020 to compose the score for Drew McOnie’s ballet Merlin. From the outset, we agreed that the piece would fully embrace melody and place storytelling at its heart. Working closely from Drew’s detailed synopsis, I began to imagine the ballet unfolding on stage. As I did, melodies and recurring themes emerged - chunks of musical material that would come to represent characters, emotions and pivotal moments in the scenario. As regular collaborators, Drew and I share a creative language and sensibility, which meant we were almost always instinctively aligned. Dreaming up stories with Drew has always been a complete joy and a blast of creative fresh air.

We travelled to Leeds to workshop early dance and narrative ideas with the Northern Ballet dancers, staging scenes to preliminary thematic demos. During those first few days, we also cast the ballet and got to know the dancers. This proved invaluable for me in the composing process as I could clearly picture the artists who would inhabit Drew’s characters, and understand the physical language they would use to tell the story. This, coupled with Colin Richmond’s beautiful costume and set design images, gave me an insight into the rich tonal palette we’d be experiencing in the theatre, and a vivid sense of the three-dimensional characters I’d be helping to bring to life.

I continued shaping the score while walking the wild hills around the Welsh Marches where I live. Melodies sprung to life, birthed from the gnarly hawthorn branches, while rhythmic ideas formed in counterpoint to my footsteps. Something of that wind-blown, enchanted landscape inevitably found its way into the score.

In 2021, the Northern Ballet Orchestra, under conductor Jonathon Lo, brought the score thrillingly to life. Returning to record it four years later with conductor Daniel Parkinson, I was once again struck by the extraordinary artistry and care of the musicians, and by the clarity and detail that Daniel drew from the score. Watching him on the podium at Clockwork Studios in Glasgow, with the music cascading around us, I found myself recalling small choreographic moments I had long since forgotten. The score and the ballet - the orchestra and the dancers - remain inextricably intertwined.

We moved into Air Edel Studios to mix the album, with the brilliant Nick Taylor in charge of the faders, and it’s on Air Edel Records that the music is now released.

It is my hope that, even without seeing the story unfold on stage, you will be able to picture the ballet in your mind's eye, just as I did when I first sat down to compose - before a dance step had been set.

This recording is dedicated to my father, Frank Olding, who would have loved it.

Stream the Original Soundtrack Album MERLIN here.

Bridge Theatre Podcast

Grant recently sat down and talked all things theatre with Pauline Fallowell in the penultimate episode of the Bridge Theatre Podcast.

Grant reflects on a lifetime spent in and around theatres – from dancing as a shy three-year-old, to appearing in Oliver! in the West End, The Dark Crystal with Jim Henson, and Hamlet at the National Theatre alongside Daniel Day-Lewis and Judi Dench. He talks about how growing up backstage shaped the composer he is today, why theatre remains his first love, and what it really means for music to “help tell the story.” Pauline and Grant dive into the power of a great score, the difference between composing for stage and screen, and the thrill (and terror) of opening a brand-new theatre with a “big rock music cue.”

Grant also shares his fantasy production – an immersive Sweeney Todd at the Bridge with a dream creative team – and imagines an alternative life running a second-hand bookshop on the Welsh borders. It’s a heartfelt, funny and passionate conversation with one of The Bridge’s longest-standing collaborators – and a love letter to music, theatre, and the people who make both.

One Man, Two Guvnors - NT at Home

For the first time - One Man Two Guvnors (songs written and performed by Grant), starring James Corden, Oliver Chris, Jemima Rooper, Daniel Rigby, Claire Lams and Suzie Toase will be available on the streaming service NT at Home.

This is the original production, filmed during it's first run at the National Theatre, with the original line up of The Craze - Grant on vocals and guitar/keys, Phil James on lead guitar, Richard Coughlan on Bass and Ben Brooker on percussion.

You can rent the film or subscribe to stream all the NT at home productions. Available from 13th January.

Associate Artist - Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

Grant is honoured and delighted to have been named an Associate Artist at Shakespeare's Globe.

"It is a particular privilege to be associated with a theatre where musicians are so vital to the theatre making process and where live music contributes so much to the storytelling and audience experience. The Globe is a special building filled with special people and some of my favourite theatre experiences have taken place within that wooden O. I can't wait to get back there and make some more music."

Richard II by William Shakespeare - Album

The soundtrack to the Bridge Theatre's 2025 production of Richard II (starring Jonathan Bailey and directed by Nicholas Hytner), is now available on Air Edel Records. Containing 52 minutes of Grant's original music you can download or stream it wherever you get your music.

An epic, cinematic score that feels more like a proper all-encompassing soundtrack that bookends or accompanies almost every scene. It’s exquisite. - Broadwayworld.com

Moley - Series 1 album

I’m thrilled that my music from Moley series one is now available. I had such a great time working on the 52 episodes that make up the first series and it’s been a pleasure to condense about nine hours of music into the hour that we’ve released.

You can hear all the main character themes and several guest character motifs in the cues I’ve selected. Also listen out for fabulous vocals from Trevor Dion Nicholas, Ashleigh Gray and Mark Kingswood. I hope you enjoy your visit to Moletown. Say hi to Moley from me.

You buy and download the album here. Or stream from whichever music platform you prefer.

Moley on Boomerang/Pop/Peacock worldwide.

The 52 part animated TV series Moley, with music by Grant is currently playing daily on Warner Brothers' channel Boomerang as well as POP and Peacock in over 140 countries. With a star studded voice cast which includes Warwick Davis, Stanley Tucci, Gemma Arterton, Julie Walters, Richard E Grant and Charles Dance.