Michael John McCarthy is a composer, sound designer and theatre-maker from West Cork, currently based in Glasgow.
He has worked on over 100 productions, including twelve Scotsman Edinburgh Fringe First award winners. In recent years Michael John has worked for the BBC, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Druid Theatre Company, the Young Vic, the Abbey Theatre, the National Theatre of Scotland, the Royal Exchange Manchester, the Traverse Theatre, the Citizens Theatre Glasgow, the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, and the Dundee Repertory Theatre amongst others. He is also the musical supervisor & co-sound designer on Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of), winner of the 2022 Olivier Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play.
He is the creator & composer of The Dream Frequencies, an audio theatre piece produced by the Traverse Theatre. He is also the lead artist on Turntable, a participatory arts & storytelling project, produced by Red Bridge Arts.
His band Album Club released their debut LP on Last Night From Glasgow in May 2022. It reached #6 in the UK Vinyl Albums chart, & #2 in the Scottish Albums chart, spending 6 weeks in the Top 100. He was a member of Zoey Van Goey & Elephant, and has also played and recorded with Aidan Moffat, Emma Pollock, Niall Connolly, Trembling Bells & Bonnie Prince Billy, Alasdair Roberts & Air In The Lungs amongst others.
Music credits for film & television include Pitching Up, On The Hemline & Where You're Meant To Be.
Current & Forthcoming Work includes:
Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) - Touring UK/Canada (Music & Sound Design)
Studio3 - Tron Theatre, Glasgow (Sound Design)
Theatre For One: Made In Cork - Landmark Productions & Octopus Theatricals (Writing)
Recent Work includes:
Tam O'Shanter (by Gary McNair) - BBC Audio Scotland
Sound Design, and Music with Malin Lewis. Winner - Best Adaptation, BBC Audio Drama Awards 2025
The Fair Maid of the West (by Isobel McArthur, after Thomas Heywood) - Royal Shakespeare Company
★★★★★ "Music is one of the keys to the success of the production. The score is cleverly constructed from twentieth-century pop hits arranged by Michael John McCarthy and directed by Tarek Merchant. And in context, every one of their choices adds to the narrative and emotion of each moment in the story." The Reviews Hub
★★★★ The Guardian ★★★★ The Times ★★★★ Financial Times
The Grand Old Opera House Hotel (by Isobel McArthur) - Traverse Theatre / Dundee Rep Theatre
★★★★★ "Remarkably inventive"
The Times
★★★★ "In Gareth Nicholls’s beautifully timed production, Michael John McCarthy’s score moves centre stage, the arias come sweeping in and wild, romantic gestures take the place of minor domestic gripes from the pernickety guests [...] as formally adventurous as it is extravagantly funny."
The Guardian
Winner Scotsman Edinburgh Fringe First 2023
England & Son: A Play for Mark Thomas (by Ed Edwards) - Tin Cat Entertainment / HOME Manchester
★★★★ "Cressida Brown’s powerful direction, and the effects of Richard Williamson’s lighting and Michael John McCarthy’s sound design add to the mounting sense of panic as Thomas recounts incident after incident that turned him into the man he is [...] A triumph for all concerned." Whats On Stage
Winner Scotsman Edinburgh Fringe First 2023
Kidnapped (with Isobel McArthur) - National Theatre of Scotland
★★★★★ “Scottish theatre at its absolute finest."
Broadway World
★★★★★ "Kidnapped is a piece of theatrical brilliance. "
Theatre Scotland
★★★★★ "McCarthy's rearrangements of such unlikely songs as Kenny Rogers' The Gambler, Talking Heads' Road to Nowhere, and Yazoo's Only You are folksy and funky by turns, and an absolute hoot [...] This is a special show."
The Stage
Castle Lennox (by Linda McLean) - Lung Ha Theatre Company/Lyceum Edinburgh
★★★★★ "The mood of the show, therefore, has something of the texture of life itself; often brutal and heartbreaking, but also funny, beautiful, and sometimes downright magical."
The Scotsman
★★★★★ "Composer Michael John McCarthy and on-stage Arranger & Musical Director David Paul Jones conspire to soundtrack proceedings with a dynamic song-book and soundscape [...] a layering of songs, hopeful and heartbroken, motifs which follow the story through the long years towards a final liberation."
Brickbats & Bouquets
He has worked on over 100 productions, including twelve Scotsman Edinburgh Fringe First award winners. In recent years Michael John has worked for the BBC, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Druid Theatre Company, the Young Vic, the Abbey Theatre, the National Theatre of Scotland, the Royal Exchange Manchester, the Traverse Theatre, the Citizens Theatre Glasgow, the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, and the Dundee Repertory Theatre amongst others. He is also the musical supervisor & co-sound designer on Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of), winner of the 2022 Olivier Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play.
He is the creator & composer of The Dream Frequencies, an audio theatre piece produced by the Traverse Theatre. He is also the lead artist on Turntable, a participatory arts & storytelling project, produced by Red Bridge Arts.
His band Album Club released their debut LP on Last Night From Glasgow in May 2022. It reached #6 in the UK Vinyl Albums chart, & #2 in the Scottish Albums chart, spending 6 weeks in the Top 100. He was a member of Zoey Van Goey & Elephant, and has also played and recorded with Aidan Moffat, Emma Pollock, Niall Connolly, Trembling Bells & Bonnie Prince Billy, Alasdair Roberts & Air In The Lungs amongst others.
Music credits for film & television include Pitching Up, On The Hemline & Where You're Meant To Be.
Current & Forthcoming Work includes:
Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) - Touring UK/Canada (Music & Sound Design)
Studio3 - Tron Theatre, Glasgow (Sound Design)
Theatre For One: Made In Cork - Landmark Productions & Octopus Theatricals (Writing)
Recent Work includes:
Tam O'Shanter (by Gary McNair) - BBC Audio Scotland
Sound Design, and Music with Malin Lewis. Winner - Best Adaptation, BBC Audio Drama Awards 2025
The Fair Maid of the West (by Isobel McArthur, after Thomas Heywood) - Royal Shakespeare Company
★★★★★ "Music is one of the keys to the success of the production. The score is cleverly constructed from twentieth-century pop hits arranged by Michael John McCarthy and directed by Tarek Merchant. And in context, every one of their choices adds to the narrative and emotion of each moment in the story." The Reviews Hub
★★★★ The Guardian ★★★★ The Times ★★★★ Financial Times
The Grand Old Opera House Hotel (by Isobel McArthur) - Traverse Theatre / Dundee Rep Theatre
★★★★★ "Remarkably inventive"
The Times
★★★★ "In Gareth Nicholls’s beautifully timed production, Michael John McCarthy’s score moves centre stage, the arias come sweeping in and wild, romantic gestures take the place of minor domestic gripes from the pernickety guests [...] as formally adventurous as it is extravagantly funny."
The Guardian
Winner Scotsman Edinburgh Fringe First 2023
England & Son: A Play for Mark Thomas (by Ed Edwards) - Tin Cat Entertainment / HOME Manchester
★★★★ "Cressida Brown’s powerful direction, and the effects of Richard Williamson’s lighting and Michael John McCarthy’s sound design add to the mounting sense of panic as Thomas recounts incident after incident that turned him into the man he is [...] A triumph for all concerned." Whats On Stage
Winner Scotsman Edinburgh Fringe First 2023
Kidnapped (with Isobel McArthur) - National Theatre of Scotland
★★★★★ “Scottish theatre at its absolute finest."
Broadway World
★★★★★ "Kidnapped is a piece of theatrical brilliance. "
Theatre Scotland
★★★★★ "McCarthy's rearrangements of such unlikely songs as Kenny Rogers' The Gambler, Talking Heads' Road to Nowhere, and Yazoo's Only You are folksy and funky by turns, and an absolute hoot [...] This is a special show."
The Stage
Castle Lennox (by Linda McLean) - Lung Ha Theatre Company/Lyceum Edinburgh
★★★★★ "The mood of the show, therefore, has something of the texture of life itself; often brutal and heartbreaking, but also funny, beautiful, and sometimes downright magical."
The Scotsman
★★★★★ "Composer Michael John McCarthy and on-stage Arranger & Musical Director David Paul Jones conspire to soundtrack proceedings with a dynamic song-book and soundscape [...] a layering of songs, hopeful and heartbroken, motifs which follow the story through the long years towards a final liberation."
Brickbats & Bouquets
Stage Music Sampler
If you want to find out more about any aspect of Michael John's work, please write to [email protected].
Michael John is represented by Davina Shah at TEAM: [email protected]
