Toured Scotland 2026 – including 4 week at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival – winner of the Fringe First Award.

Dundee Rep Theatre and Solar Bear, in collaboration with Aberdeen Performing Arts, present: The Singer

Music & Lyrics by KT Tunstall

Directed by Cora Bissett

Based on the short film The Singer by Cora Bissett and Jamie Rea

The Singer is a bold, thrilling new gig-theatre drama about Joe, a deaf artist who “sings” with his hands, and Andy, a washed-up musician hungry for a comeback. Joe experiences music viscerally and physically, feeling rhythm through his body and crafting lyrics that pulse with life and exhilarating originality. When their unlikely creative partnership sparks something extraordinary, ambition and belonging collide. But as prejudice and the music industry’s ableist blind spots close in, their bond is pushed to breaking point.

Featuring music and lyrics by Grammy Award-winning KT Tunstall, The Singer is a powerful story of music, identity and connection, and the fight for a deaf artist to be truly seen and heard.

Credits

Director & Book Writer/Cora Bissett

Music & Lyrics/KT Tunstall

Musical Director & Arranger/Michael John McCarthy

Set & Costume Designer/Jenny Booth

Sound Designer/Garry Boyle

Lighting Designer/Emma Jones

Creative Captioning/Daniel Hughes

BSL Associate Director/Benedetta Zanetti

Dramaturg/David Greig

Production Manager/Jessie Ward

Wardrobe Supervisor/Lara Bauchop

Wardrobe Assistant/Sophie Chen

AV Technician/Natalie Welch

Sound No.1/Jed Gillies

LX Programmer/Fee Dalgliesh

Production LX (Tour)/Rory Kay

Production Sound (Tour)/Keir Marten

Company Stage Manager (Book)/Alex Tosh

Stage Manager (Tech)/Heather Wilson

Assistant Stage Manager (Trav)/Ruby Nobel

Assistant Stage Manager (Props)/Debbie Campbell

Producer/Joanne Clark

Producer/Anne McCluskey

Producer/Angela Coates

BSL Consultant/Clare Canton

BSL/English Interpretation Team led by Yvonne Strain:

Mel Morbey, Jill Gallacher, Elizabeth Malcolm, Sula Brookes, Rachel Amey, Lucy Niven, Janice Murdoch, Lou Hanson, Nathan Imeson, Georgina Donohoe, Elliot Webster Mockett, Rachel Wilson, Hamish Denerley, Mark Sherwin, Lisa Li, Victoria Paulo

Based on the film The Singer, produced by Laura McBride, Lothian Films and James Heath, MTP, commissioned by Screen Scotland and BFI Network via Short Circuit

The play will be performed in British Sign Language (BSL) and spoken English, with captions. This multi-access approach supports BSL users while also ensuring wider accessibility, including for deaf audiences who use captions and/or audio.

For all media enquiries email: Chloe.Smith@premiercomms.com