Sam Kenyon
Words & Music
February 9th, 2024
I'm loving writing the score for Owen Horsley's forthcoming production of Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT - OR, WHAT YOU WILL at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park. More information and tickets available here.
January 12th, 2024
Happy New Year! I was delighted to find out that I AM NOT RAYMOND WALLACE has been selected by Gay's the Word bookshop as one of its BEST BOOKS OF 2023! Particularly meaningful to me because GTW was the location for the launch back in September 2022. You can buy your copy directly from this gorgeous, independent bastion of LGBTQ+ bookshops, here.
Meanwhile, I'm beavering away on my adaptation of LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES - Act two is already well under way...
November 9th, 2023
It's sixty years to the day that Raymond Wallace wandered into Little Navy and changed the course of his life, irrevocably. You can hear an exclusive extract of the moment when Raymond first sees Joey, here. Buy your copy of I AM NOT RAYMOND WALLACE - eBook, audiobook, hard copy - here.
August 29th, 2023
I've been beavering away on my new score: an adaptation of Choderlos de Laclos's LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES; I hope to have a draft completed by end October - more details will follow. Meanwhile, we're fast approaching the first anniversary of publication of I AM NOT RAYMOND WALLACE, and the fourth cast of MISS LITTLEWOOD has just set sail on the Queen Mary II!
February 6th, 2023
Two reviews of I AM NOT RAYMOND WALLACE are out:
"A painful meditation on lost opportunities and the grievous consequences of thwarted love. [...] Kenyon’s ability to create vivid scenes and telling details is evident on every page and especially memorable are the dexterously handled sex scenes that manage to balance tenderness with raunch." - Jonathan Kemp (LONDON TRIPTYCH; TWENTY-SIX) via QueerGuru.
"Sam Kenyon’s stunning debut novel [...] is a beautifully written story of love, loss and redemption; a tale of the emotional costs we can so often suffer for failing to be true to our true selves." - John Case ( Rye Arts Festival) via ReviewsByWriters.
December 14th, 2022
The virtual book tour of I AM NOT RAYMOND WALLACE was an absolute ball. In case you missed it, you can find many of the interviews on the Inkandescent website. Interviews with Alex Wingfield (audiobook actor); Erica Whyman (RSC), Bob the Bookerer and many more. Also, searching on instagram for #RaymondVoyages will show you just how far Raymond has travelled already!
November 30th, 2022
I'm very excited to be joining The Velvet Page Book Club for their final meeting of the year on December 8th in Waterstones, Piccadilly, to talk about I AM NOT RAYMOND WALLACE!
November 2022
I'm listening to - and LOVING - the audiobook of I AM NOT RAYMOND WALLACE, read by Alex Wingfield. He's done an absolutely beautiful job. You can download it here. Meanwhile, for THIS WEEK ONLY, the eBook is just £0.99/$0.99! Available on all eReader platforms; here's the link to the kindle edition.
September 20th, 2022
Last Thursday's launch at the legendary Gay's the Word in Bloomsbury was a real event...an amazing audience, a wonderful speech by my publisher, Justin David, and a delightful response to my reading. Footage is being uploaded as I write to the @InkandescentUK account on Instagram. Very sadly my Mum fell shortly after my reading, breaking a number of bones, but is recuperating with vim and determination in UCH...like I said: it was a real event...
September 8th, 2022
The publication date for my debut novel, I am not Raymond Wallace, is fast approaching. To keep abreast of the latest developments, you can sign up to my publisher's newsletter here.
August 2022
Miss Littlewood is back in the rehearsal room for voyage #2 of the RSC/Cunard partnership. Find out more here!
June 2022
After a successful Unbound campaign, my debut novel, 'I am not Raymond Wallace,' is now available for preordering directly from my publisher, Inkandescent, from Waterstones, Amazon, WHSmith, and all good bookshops.
May 2022
'Miss Littlewood' opens on board the Queen Mary II next month as part of the new partnership between the RSC and Cunard.
February 2022
My debut novel, I Am Not Raymond Wallace, has just gone to the typesetters...more details soon.
January 2022
Miss Littlewood is taking to the seas as part of a nw partnership between the Royal Shakespeare Company and Cunard. An abridged version will be playing to live audiences on the New York-Southampton route as of May 2022. Read all about it here.
June 2021
I am over the moon to announce that I have a novel coming out in 2022. Published by Inkandescent, I Am Not Raymond Wallace is a story of queer love and loss in the second half of the twentieth century. Here is the press release!
August 21st, 2020
I was delighted to return to Adam Lenson's SIGNALONLINE series for the final one, on tuesday last. I'm performing 'In the Summer of Our Meeting', from Dear Sammy, having completed a further 4 songs during lockdown. I'm on here at 48:00.
June 14th, 2020
I am beavering away on my next project, which is based on Dear Sammy, a memoir by Samuel Steward about his correspondence and friendship with Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. Early on in lockdown, I performed a new song from this show - entitled 'Sammy Doesn't Sing' - at SIGNAL ONLINE 3. You can catch the entire concert here; I appear around the 1:05 mark. I was delighted that Adam contacted me to perform, and hope to share more material online soon.
August 13th, 2019
I will be doing a talk on the process behind Miss Littlewood at the Royal Academy of Music on Tuesday October 8th, 2019, as part of the Academy's celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Musical Theatre Department. Free tickets available here.
December 4th, 2018
I am thrilled to announce that I have been nominated for Best Musical Theatre Bookwriting in the 2019 Writer's Guild of Great Britain. The ceremony is on January 14th, 2019. In the meantime you can check out the Writers' Guild Website here.
September 7th, 2018
The cast recording is now out for Miss Littlewood, and is available on CD via the RSC website, on iTunes, and on Spotify.
July 19th, 2018
Miss Littlewood has opened to some delightful reviews: 5***** in Whatsonstage ("I felt the hairs stand on end at the back of my neck"); 4**** in The Times ("It's a magnificent evening") The Guardian ("It is as if we are seeing Joan’s methods applied to her life"), The Evening Standard and The Stage ("A stage dominated by women of all ages still feels like a radical act."). Following our recording a couple of weeks ago, a CD is out soon. Meanwhile, the script has been published by Samuel French and you can buy it here.
May 23rd, 2018
We're already in week three of rehearsals for Miss Littlewood. We're rehearsing in the RSC's The Other Place, which was built on the site of the old Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon. Back in October 2014, for the very first Fun Palaces weekend, we presented a few songs from my then-unfinished show...it feels wonderful to be back, preparing the first full-blown production.
April 14th, 2018
The cast has been announced for Miss Littlewood! Click here for the latest press release and more details: https://www.rsc.org.uk/miss-littlewood/
September 12th, 2017
I'm delighted to announce that my Joan Littlewood show, Miss Littlewood, will form part of the RSC's Summer 2018 season, announced today! It runs at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon, from June 22nd to August 4th, 2018. You can read the full press release here.
August 2017
I've been redrafting my Joan Littlewood show, Miss Littlewood, over the summer. I'm nearing the end of the latest draft, and will shortly be able to share some extremely exciting news.
March 2017
On Tuesday 7th March, we took my Joan Littlewood show to Stratford East to perform my latest draft to the staff there. I'll keep the updates coming...alongside many of the December team, we were joined by Gloria Obianyo, Ash Hunter and Joseph Atkins.
January 2017
I've just started rehearsals as composer for a hilarious new farce by Phil Porter, based loosely on the works of Plautus, called Vice Versa. It's directed by Janice Honeyman, and opens in the Swan Theatre in May...
December 2016
I've had the most amazing week workshopping Miss Littlewood with the RSC and a terrific group of performers: Clare Burt, Nicola Hughes, Clare Foster, Laura Tebbutt, Victoria Hamilton-Barritt, Natalie Dew, Emily Johnstone & Alex Lawther. More news to follow.
September 2016
Draft 1 of my Joan Littlewood show is complete! Now for the rewrites...
May 2016
I'm hard at work on my next show: a musical based on the life of the maverick theatre director, Joan Littlewood. More news to follow...
March 2016
The album of music and speeches from A Midsummer Night's Dream is now available on CD, iTunes and spotify!
February 2016
Reviews for A Midsummer Night's Dream are in: 4**** in The Guardian, The Evening Standard and The Times!
October 2015
I am delighted to announce that I will be composing the score for the Royal Shakespeare Company's forthcoming production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Director: Erica Whyman; Designer: Tom Piper; Lighting Designer: Charles Balfour.
March 2015
Playing For Time at Sheffield Crucible received excellent reviews. Read more here.
December 2014
The Christmas Truce at the RSC received five stars in The Daily Telegraph! You can read the review here.
November 2014
I am delighted to announce that I will be arranging and composing the music for Sheffield Crucible's forthcoming production of Arthur Miller's play, Playing for Time, directed by Richard Beecham. This is an extraordinary play about the women's orchestra in Auschwitz, based on the memoir of the same title by Fania Fénelon.
September 2014
As part of the Royal Shakespeare Company's very own Fun Palace, on Sunday October 5th 2014 I shall be presenting brand new songs from my show-in-development. It's called Miss Littlewood, and is based on the life of maverick theatre practitioner, Joan Littlewood.
Jenny Galloway will be playing Joan, and Alison Pargeter will play Barbara Windsor.
May 2014
My great friend, the artist Harriet Mellor, has made a beautiful video, for which I've provided the music - 'Gavotterella', from The Glass Slipper. You can watch it here:
March 2014:
I am delighted to announce that I will be writing the music for the Royal Shakespeare Company's forthcoming production of The Christmas Truce, a new play written by Phil Porter to commemorate the Truce of 1914.
February 2014:
I am delighted to announce that I will be the Musical Director for the Royal Academy of Music Musical Theatre department's production of A Man of No Importance in June 2014.
© 2020 by Sam Kenyon