Grant founded THRIFT with Tim Godwin in 2002, having worked together for The National Youth Music Theatre, where they both started to explore new ways of telling stories using music for both narrative and effect. With THRIFT he has written ‘Crucial Identity’ with Rhiannon Tise, which was performed in Kingston, has worked with young people in Schools and Colleges during outreach programmes, and has been delivering special needs workshops throughout London and Southeast , helping young people access Theatre, often for the first time.
Grant started his career in theatre as an actor aged seven in the Jim Henson film “The Dark Crystal” and went on to train at both the Sylvia Young Theatre School and the Central School of Speech and Drama (graduating in 1994 with a BA in acting). In the twenty years when acting was his main career he was lucky enough to have appeared twice at the RNT in Danton’s Death, and Hamlet, and to have had five stints in West End musicals – Oliver, Peter Pan, March of the Falsettos, Into the Woods, and Miss Saigon. He also appeared in rep, regional theatre and fringe as well as small parts on TV and film.
On leaving Miss Saigon, Grant started to pursue his love of music, and following a couple of publishing deals in Glasgow and Nashville, released two solo albums and one band recording on his own label Scrawny Records. The solo albums were called “the Kinder Way” and “Monogram 1” which spawned the huge internet hit “Omaha” – the fourth most downloaded song of 2001 in the UK’s only independent MP3 chart. He was a regular feature of the London acoustic scene and if you search hard enough on the web you’ll be able to find downloadable footage of two or three of his shows at the 12 Bar Club. Around this time he was also a member of the alternative rock band Salvador. The music was loud, angry and melodic and Grant sang and played Bass guitar in a very J-J Burnel fashion. Salvador were big in Japan and had songs released through Sony over there, but were happiest with the raw sound of their self produced EP “Our American Friends”.
In 2002 Grant started to become more interested in writing musical theatre – and became the Bridewell Theatre’s composer in residence. For the Bridewell – Grant has written three musicals, “A Celebrity Chef Ate My Hamster!” (written with Nick Barnes), produced May 2003 and directed by Clive Paget; “Beyond the Sea” (written with and directed by Paul Griffiths), produced in April 2004 and again in August 2004; and “Three Sides”, directed by Clive Paget, which has been performed at the Bridewell Theatre and at the Shaw Theatre. Grant also wrote songs for the Bridewell’s production of David Ives’ play “All in the Timing” which he also performed in ; “Twelfth Night”; and music for David Mamet’s “Reunion”.
Away from the Bridewell, Grant has written music and/or songs for “Romeo and Juliet” at the Southwark Playhouse, “Much Ado About Nothing” at Boughton Monchelsea Place, and “the Blue Diamond of Azkabar”, written by Toby Davies and directed by Perrier-award winning Paul King.
Grant also wrote three musicals for the NYMT – “Iona”, performed at the Powell Theatre in Sherborne; “Strabanza Extravaganza” – a cross-community project in Strabane, Northern Ireland; and “Born of Glass” which was performed at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast and again for Mr Tony Blair at the TUC conference in Brighton.
In 2005 he has written ‘Spitting Distance’ with Toby Davies, which was initially performed at The Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, before it was picked up for development at The Royal National Theatre Studio as part of their initiative to support the best new Music Theatre writing. He has also just finished writing additional songs for the U.K tour of ‘Personals’, which was creative team behind the U.S sitcom ‘Friends’. 2006 has kicked off to a fantastic start with Grant being asked to write the songs/music for Samuel Adamson's new play 'Southwark Fair', directed by Nicholas Hytner at The Royal National Theatre in the Cottesloe.
Recently, Grant has been doing a little acting, and you may have seen him crop up as a regular character on ITV’s William & Mary. Much to the amusement of his friends, Grant has dubbed 5 films in the martial arts genre – Swordsman, Volcano High, Chinese Ghost Story Part 2, City on Fire, and My Wife is a Gangster. Pick up the DVD’s and see if you work out which voices are Grant’s (clue: usually the old men and the big baddies!)
