Hello. I’m a writer and composer.
Photo: The Other Richard / Bruntwood Prize / Royal Exchange Theatre
I co-founded Sleepdogs with Tanuja Amarasuriya
and I’m a resident at Pervasive Media Studio, Watershed, Bristol.
For scriptwriting, original music, and sound design, I’m represented by
Emily Wraith at Berlin Associates.
For books and book rights, I’m represented by
Rachel Goldblatt at Curtis Brown
Projects as writer include:
FOREST 404
for BBC Sounds, the first fiction podcast to top the Apple download charts
starring Pearl Mackie, Tanya Moodie, Pippa Haywood
Writers Guild of Great Britain Award, best radio drama 2020
Radio Academy ARIA, best fictional storytelling 2020
Finalist: BBC Audio Drama Awards, best podcast / online series 2020
Special commendation: Prix Europa, Best European Digital Audio Project 2019
HEARTWORM
a stage play
Winner of the Bruntwood Prize for playwriting 2017
BABEL’S CUPID
a stage play
Runner-up, Yale Drama Series Prize 2021
DARK LAND LIGHT HOUSE
(writer / sound designer / co-composer with Paul Nash)
a stage play produced by MAYK for Bristol Old Vic
ALL MY DREAMS ON VHS
(writer / director)
a short film starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw and O-T Fagbenle
NexT Bucharest Audience Award 2009
THE MORPETH CAROL
an afternoon play for BBC Radio 4 based on the Sleepdogs stage play
starring Paul Copley, Ellis Hollins, Alun Raglan, Rachel Davies
Radio Academy Award for Best Drama 2014
HUMANS
(writing as 艾缇莫)
3 episodes of an adaptation of the Swedish / UK sci-fi series for Chinese TV
starring Stephy Qi, Ray Ma
ContentAsia Award for Best TV Format Adaptation (Scripted) 2021
BEETHOVEN CAN HEAR YOU
a drama with music for BBC Radio 3 starring Peter Capaldi and Sophie Stone, composer Lloyd Coleman
I’m a regular writer for the Big Finish range of Doctor Who audio adventures; contributor to The Verb on BBC Radio 3; alumnus of Channel 4’s 4screenwriting scheme 2015 and the BBC TV Drama Writers’ Programme 2021; and currently developing screen and audio projects with production companies in the USA and UK.
Projects as a composer and sound designer include:
- – TV scores for Edgar Wright, Channel 4 and the BBC; composer reel here.
- – composing sound designer for all Sleepdogs projects to date; some examples here.
- – composing sound designer for theatre including Raucous, Neil Bartlett / Bristol Old Vic, Nikesh Shukla / Theatre Bristol / MAYK, Nik Partridge / Tobacco Factory Theatres, Manchester Royal Exchange, Lucy Cassidy / The Egg, We The Curious, Lucinka Eisler, Matt Lucas, BBC Radio, 14-18 NOW.
- – original music for various BBC Radio productions including Book at Bedtime.
As a musician and performer:
- – angeltech is the name of the radiophonic pop group I’m part of.
- – North Sea Navigator is the name under which Paul Nash makes music, and I sometimes play on / produce their records.
- – you can find an audio sketchbook of demos and doodlings here (…including a wildly popular version of the Doctor Who theme.)
Workshops, masterclasses, mentoring, talks, and critical writing:
- – for English Heritage / Ginkgo Projects, Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, UWE, Bristol Old Vic, Valentina Cesci / Lyric Hammersmith, The Almeida, Theatre Bristol, Action Hero, Audiocraft, Watershed, Realtime Magazine, Terrestrial, Laura Dannequin and many others.
Some words by other people about things I did:
“… a brilliantly unnerving and visceral piece of work by a distinctive and vividly theatrical voice.”
“Fabulously mysterious, with a lead character who leaped off the page.”
Vicky Featherstone and Russell T Davies on Heartworm, winner of the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2017.
“… bursting with fresh ideas and sparkling dialogue… [Salvation Nine] pushes the boundaries of the Doctor Who universe into unknown territory, both physically and philosophically… In less than 60 minutes, everything is changed. The Doctor is different, the Sontarans are different, we are different. Simply astounding.”
– Jamie Lenman in Doctor Who Magazine, on Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Salvation Nine
“Watching The Bullet And The Bass Trombone is the closest I’ve come to the experience of seeing Godspeed You Black Emperor! play live: … the same careful build-up to sustained emotional crescendos – and again, the same politics, the same humanity, fear, and hope. It takes a long time for hope to emerge in ‘Bullet’, and when it does, it floods the dark room with sunlight: a magical, uplifting experience.”
– journalist and critic Maddy Costa on Sleepdogs’ The Bullet And The Bass Trombone.
“Harrowing, intelligent, beautifully crafted and deftly performed. And ultimately incredibly uplifting in an impossible-to-describe kind of way.”
– Andrew Haydon, Postcards from the Gods, on The Bullet And The Bass Trombone.
“Delicate and simple, but still majestic.”
“A sum that is greater than its beautifully compelling and brilliant parts.”
“Impossible not to fall head over heels, totally and utterly in love with this.”
“This is sci-fi music magic and it’s very cool”
“One of the UK’s best-kept secrets… shimmeringly beautiful and lyrically savvy… makes me want to cry tears of unabashed joy.”
– NME, DJ Magazine, Subba-cultcha, Unpeeled, and Spill Magazine on the music of Angeltech.
“… a thrilling exploration of evil, identity and creativity, performed with terrific power and concentration by Timothy X Atack and Charlotte Melia… the effect is deep, thought-provoking, moving and beautifully sustained, by two fine actors pushing themselves to the limit.”
– The Scotsman on Thomas Eccleshare’s Helen.
– – –
Corrections & clarifications:
I’m sometimes confused with Tim Atack, the composer of soundtracks for Cemetary Junction, Among Giants and Elephant Juice amongst many many others, and collaborator with Des’ree. Despite some ongoing IMDb and Google-related confusions, he is another person entirely, with his own hopes, dreams, face, and probably a different blood group.