About

Hi! My name is Arnoud – that rhymes with aloud.

I love to tell stories, either through music, lyrics and dialogue in the theatre or through text, audio and video as a journalist and PR consultant. Clarity, accessibility and effectiveness are important and in my writing I strive to be easy on the ear, fresh and surprising.

Before focussing on musical theatre I worked as a financial journalist for 16 years. I needed a change, so I moved into geopolitical PR – but that didn’t give me the creative fulfilment I longed for. Whilst sitting behind my laptop on a rainy Tuesday morning, I read that Mountview Academy started an MA in Writing musicals. “That’s what I want to do!”, was my first thought. I applied and when I got accepted, I left my career and followed my passion. After being tutored by the fabulous Rob Hartmann and Jenifer Toksvig, I graduated with distinction in 2016 and I’ve been writing and composing ever since.

My work could most recently be heard and seen at:

• Betty Asfalt Complex, Amsterdam (2023/2024), Open BAC, weekly closing song

• The Other Palace (March 2023), Herschel Grynspan (workshop production)

• Westpoint Performing Arts Centre, Auckland Music Theatre (February 2023), Brothers. Direction by Aaron Tindell, music direction by Chris Moore

• ALP Musicals, Stone Nest, Shaftesbury Avenue, London (November/December 2022), Catch Me

• Goldsmiths, Musical Theatre department, University of London (January - April 2022), The Strange Affair of Herschel Grynspan (workshop)

• Sweater (January/February 2022), Israeli radio and all streaming platforms. Music production, orchestration and keys for a song about letting go of memories of lovers past, by Shachar Shamai.

• Above the Stag (August 2021), The Strange Affair of Herschel Grynspan (work in progress). Direction by Scott Le Crass

• The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (autumn 2020), Catch Me. Two fully separate, Covid-safe, versions of the show under direction of Adam Lenson

• Dronning Dorothea Teater, Michael Nielsen (July 2020), workshop Brothers in Danish translation

• Theater aan de Parade, Den Bosch (May 2020), Onzichtbaar from Brothers (Dutch translation), performed by Jary Sluijter

• Paradiso Noord, Dutch Radio stations 1, 2, 5 and local radio stations (August 2019 - April 2020): various songs with lyrics from Wietske Loebis (Tekst Zoekt Muziek) and Eva Zwaving

• Theater De Meervaart & M-Lab (December 2019), extracts of Brothers (in Dutch)

• A New Musical, fundraiser Niels van Doormalen (August 2019), CREA Theatre Amsterdam

• Martian Entertainment, New York (July 2019), reading Brothers

• Residence of the Dutch ambassador in London (April 2019): I got commissioned to make a new vocal arrangement of the Dutch national anthem for the official King’s Day Celebrations

• Various cabaret shows in London (March – May 2018): Guts, performed by Tessa Berkelmans

• Christmas single Kerst ’84 (in Dutch), various national radio stations (December 2018), lyrics by Wietske Loebis

• Tristan Bates Theatre, London (June 2018) and Arts Theatre, London (May 2018) for Prelude: I Will Hold You and Invisible from Brothers and the title song from Forgive Us, Oh Father!

• The Federal, Los Angeles (May 2018), for FNAM 3rd Mondays: Invisible from Brothers

• Hebrew-language workshop of Brothers, Tel Aviv (April 2018), directed by Dan Kiesler

• Above the Stag Theatre, London (February 2018), staged reading of Brothers

I’m currently working on various new projects but I’m always open to discuss potential new collaborations.

I adapted the multiple award-winning Dutch novel Brothers by Ted van Lieshout, a story about two brothers who deal with love, death, secrets and sexuality.

Together with Danish crime novellist Lone Theils I’m developing Grey Mouse, a story about a female master embezzler who disguises herself as a grey mouse to stay unnoticed, but leads a glamorous life when she’s out of sight. We’re also developing, MS, a story about a powerful Nordic queen.

In collaboration with Harry Style I wrote the farcical musical Forgive Us, Oh Father!, a story about a lazy priest and his unfortunate congregation. Together with Harry I’m now writing Not Dead Yet, a comedy about a retirement home.

Catch Me, a black comedy about suicide and how five friends deal with a suicide, is a show I have developed with Christian Czornyj.

I also translate lyrics and shows from Dutch and German to English.