Nick works as a composer, arranger and orchestrator for theatrical productions around the world. One of his new musicals featured at 2018's From Page To Stage festival at Southwark Playhouse (Never Change), and he has written music for two actor-musician Shakespeare productions with Antic Disposition (Much Ado About Nothing, 2018 and A Comedy of Errors, 2016) which toured the UK and France. Other recent work includes a new actor-musician orchestration of the musical Rags, a new version of A Christmas Carol at Middle Temple Hall created from Victorian carol melodies woven into Dickens's original text, You Won't Succeed On Broadway If You Don't Have Any Jews (orchestrator and arranger West-End, Tel-Aviv and St James Theatre, London), Noisy Notes (orchestrator for Royal Festival Hall 2015 with Sue Perkins) and work as resident composer for theatre company Theatrum Veritatus with whom he has collaborated on Last Man Standing (Theatre N16), Lanford Wilson's Home Free (Etcetera Theatre) and the UK premieres of The Resurrectionist and Tuesdays and Sundays.
As an independent composer Nick has a large catalogue of stand-alone musical theatre songs and several works in development, including a brand new musical set on the coast of England and a musicalisation of the Erin Brockovich story.
So, You See is based on the Erin Brockovich story, and the PG&E water scandal. In this song, a mother learns from Erin that the water in Hinckley is poisoned - despite knowing it all along, she still tries and tries to feign disbelief, not wanting the life she has built to shatter.
Performed by Alex Young
Accompanied by Nick Barstow
Recorded at Umbrella Rooms, London by Ben Robbins
Music and Lyrics by Nick Barstow
Elizabeth's Song was written as part of the short musical drama 'Tobias Bentley's World Tour', performed at the St James Studio London in December 2015. It tells the story of Tobias, a worldly not-so-wise Cellist, and his long suffering booker Elizabeth. In this song, she has just been on the receiving end of another 3am phone call, this time from Nepal, in which Tobias complains loudly about everything from the food to the people to the goats.
Performed by Rachel Knowles
Accompanied by Nick Barstow
Recorded at Umbrella Rooms, London by Ben Robbins
Music by Nick Barstow, Lyrics by Sophia Chapadjiev
Learn To Fly is is sung by an 18 year old girl to her younger cousin as they both travel across the sea to start a new life. She is escaping her overbearing father, whilst he is going to be meeting his mother for the first time. Both are afraid about the future, but she takes it upon herself to try to comfort him, encouraging him to hope, dream and to believe in something brighter than what they've known before.
Performed by Alice Fearn
With vocals by Aaron Lee Lambert, Emma Barry and Ben Mabberly
Strings by Cam Millar and Katie Butler
Clarinet by Beth Allen
Piano & Percussion by Nick Barstow
The Comedy Of Errors, first performed in Gray's Inn Hall in 1616 was revived in its original venue in 2016 by Antic Disposition. Nick was commissioned to write the score for their production which relocated Shakespeare's classic farce to the French riviera in the 20s, allowing them to infuse the show with an intoxicating mix of sun, sea and jazz. Inspired by 50's hit film Some Like It Hot, the courtesan became a Marylin-esque jazz singer, Ephesus and Syracuse two warring hotels, Solinus and his henchmen a mafia and his mob.
In this opening sequence (performed live during the show, engineered here by Joe at Auburn Jam Records) the Courtestan makes her entrance and leads the house band in their first number of the night. They immediately segue into a farcical chase in which Egeon attempts (badly) to hide from mafioso Solinus.
Performed by Devika Joshi (original cast Susie Broadbent)
Engineered by Joe Davison (originally performed live by the ensemble cast)
Original music by Nick Barstow
'Baby Oh Where Can You Be' by Rudy Vallee, arranged by Nick Barstow
As an arranger, Nick regularly works with West-End leading actors to create new versions of classic musical theatre repertoire. With regular collaborator Alice Fearn he put together 'Just Me And A Piano' featuring mashups of Scott Alan and Cyndi Lauper, re-imagined Disney classics, and this version of Hello Young Lovers from The King and I which takes the Rodgers and Hammerstein Waltz and turns it into a heartfelt, modern ballad.
Performed by Alice Fearn
Filmed by Jake Waby of Jake Waby Productions
Original song by Rodgers and Hammerstein
Arranged by Nick Barstow