Midnight Tango Creatives

While the audience is being treated to a spectacular display of well-executed dance steps that tell the story of the two young people falling in love, there is much more that goes on behind the scenes to ensure everyone goes home exhilarated by the show they have just enjoyed. The dancers can’t entertain alone though, and without the following people the show wouldn’t go on. Together, as a team, Midnight Tango cast, creatives and crew make it the huge success that it is.

Karen Bruce (Director) – Karen Bruce is an award-winning director and choreographer and has had many great success in her career. Of particular note is the Olivier Award she received for her Choreography of Pacific Overtures at the Donmar Warehouse. She has worked extensively in television and theatre, both within the UK and internationally. Bruce choreographed several dances on the BBC’s So You Think You Can Dance and Strictly Come Dancing. Bruce directed the tour of Strictly Come Dancing – The Professionals and has worked on 3 of the Vincent and Flavia shows: The Last Tango, Dance ’til Dawn, and Midnight Tango.

Morgan Large (Designer) – Morgan Large undertook formal training at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts and since then has created designs for many West End shows including Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Flashdance and Fame. Large has also worked with well-known designers Christopher Oram and John Napier, predominantly on West End and Broadway productions. Large has been the designer for the Laurence Olivier Awards since 2006.

Gareth Owen (Sound Designer) – Gareth Owen has many great designs to his credit, including many West End play designs, UK Tour designs, and International designs. Owen has also worked on design for music greats Meatloaf, Elton John, Isaac Hayes, Def Leopard, N-Sync and BB King. When not working on design he mixes Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood. Owen is the youngest nominee for a Tony Award, and is also an Olivier Award nominee/winner.

James Whiteside (Lighting Designer) – James Whiteside has been a theatre lighting designer for over 15 years and has a long list of lighting design productions to his credit, including West End productions such as Footloose and Calamity Jane. Whiteside has also worked on productions for Cunard and Princess Cruise Lines. Whiteside designed the lighting for Funny Girl, Alice in Wonderland, The Snow Queen, A Christmas Carol and Animal Farm as well as many others.

Ros Stephen (Orchestrator/Arranger) – Ros Stephen earned a PhD from Bristol University and is a freelance violinist, arranger, composer and writer of Violin Globetrotters. She is a founding member of the tango company Tango Siempre and has recorded CDs and toured internationally with them. Stephen has recorded and performed on a large number of classical, jazz and theatre productions, and is also a published author, with several books to her credit.

Jonathan Taylor (Orchestrator/Arranger) – Jonathan Taylor has been working in the field of music for over twenty years, and is an accomplished pianist, composer and arranger. He studied composition at Middlesex University and has written music for various dance and music projects. Taylor is a founding member of the tango company Tango Siempre and has performed with them internationally as well as nationally. Taylor has worked with funk musicians and some of the great jazz musicians including Andy Sheppard and Eddie Parker. In the 1990’s Taylor worked on many productions for Bristol Old Vic theatre where he played keyboard. Taylor is a jazz teacher at London’s Guildhall School and is also a music examiner for ABRSM

Julian Rowlands (Orchestrator/Arranger) – Julian Rowlands is a bandoneonist specializing in tango, classical and contemporary music and studied under the leading Argentinean bandoneon player Victor Villena. Rowlands specializes in tango, classical and contemporary music, and regularly plays with Tango Siempre both in the UK and Europe. He performs on a regular basis, both as a soloist and with others both nationally and abroad, playing classical, tango and his own compositions. Rowlands has worked as a composer and arranger on Tangomotion and Midnight Tango.