I direct plays, musical theatre, and opera. I’m based in Glasgow, Scotland, UK.

I work on projects at range of scales, creating processes that support actors and acting. I’m into words, dramaturgy and playfulness, and my work usually involves music and song as central to the storytelling.

Theatre-making should be rooted in inclusion and collaboration. I seek to cultivate healthy, positive, celebratory creative environments, where all are respected and empowered with freedom and agency to do their best work.

Alongside my freelance work, I’m a part-time Lecturer in Performance for the Musical Theatre department at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. (Currently I’m module co-ordinator for BAMT2 Projects and BAMT3 New Musical Development, and lead for season programming and casting processes).

CURRENT PROJECTS

THE GLASGOW POISONER - a new musical

book and lyrics by Jen McGregor, music and lyrics by Tom Cooper, co-directed by Tom Cooper and Jen McGregor for A Play A Pie and a Pint, Òran Mór, Glasgow, 22-27 September 2025 https://playpiepint.com/the-glasgow-poisoner-a-new-musical/

then touring to Paisley Town Hall, 7-10 October 2025 https://tinyurl.com/GlasgowPoisoner

and Gaiety Theatre, Ayr, 15-17 October 2025 https://thegaiety.co.uk/events/a-play-a-pie-and-a-pint-october-2025/

‘★★★★ a riotously clever and entertaining 60-minute musical’ - Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman

‘★★★★ a gritty and thrilling new Scottish musical’ - Natalie O’Donoghue, Broadwayworld.com

‘★★★★ ingeniously scripted… fabulous showtunes’ - Neil Cooper, The Herald

‘★★★★ a witty, revisionist take on a Victorian murder case… intelligent and amusing’ - Fergus Morgan, The Stage

The libretto for The Glasgow Poisoner by Jen McGregor and Tom Cooper is published by Salamander Street, and is available here https://salamanderstreet.com/product/the-glasgow-poisoner-by-jen-mcgregor-and-tom-cooper/

ALADDIE

a family pantomime, by Fraser Boyle, for Gaiety Theatre, Ayr. 29 November - 4 January 2026. https://thegaiety.co.uk/events/aladdie/

AMELIE

actor-musician production, for BA Musical Theatre in the Athenaeum Theatre, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, March 2026

PRESS

‘brilliantly directed by Tom Cooper’

- corrblimey.co.uk Armour: a herstory of the Scottish Bard, Òran Mór / Traverse

‘this is musical theatre that is challenging, compelling and compulsive… astonishing intelligence and physicality… one of the most rewarding experiences you can have’

- Mark Shenton, The Stage Myths and Hymns Finborough Theatre, London

‘the best joy ride ever. Each musical number is a story within a story, fantastical in its unique creativity, simply brimming with ideas…. Director Tom Cooper leads his company with aplomb’

- musicaltheatrereview Big Fish RCS MAMT at Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh

‘fantastic… the musical’s abundant comedy works at every turn… bravo director Tom Cooper’

- thequintessentialreview A Little Night Music RCS MAMT at Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh

‘Tom Cooper’s remarkable production’

- Times Literary Supplement A Day by the Sea Finborough Theatre, London

‘director Tom Cooper worked wonders… seriously high mischief’

- bachtrack Gianni Schicchi Opera Bohemia, Scottish tour

‘a company that demands to be taken seriously’

- Mark Brown, The Scotsman Part of the Picture Pleasance, Edinburgh

‘expertly nuanced performances… beautiful, intelligent, moving’

- Financial Times The Trojan Women Edinburgh Fringe

‘a first-rate production’

- Lancashire Evening Post La Traviata Heritage Opera