Interview: Dom Coyote

Following his award-winning Songs for the End of the World, musician and theatre-maker Dom Coyote brings his new sci-fi infused solo work We Can Time Travel to Bristol Old Vic from June 16-18.

Since he was a boy, Dom has been receiving messages from the Traveller, a mysterious voice, at the edge of time. Join him for an experiment in DIY time travel as he sets out to change his fate.

Jump into a world of analogue synths, cassette tapes, live looping, epic storytelling and roaring songs to raise a rallying cry for our times. Discover a secret society of Time Travellers and take a leap into the unknown.

Dom Coyote is an award-winning Bristol-based composer, performer and writer of songs, who has created work with Old Vic, Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre, Art Angel, Cirque Bijou and Battersea Arts Centre. He is a regular collaborator with Kneehigh Theatre.

“[Coyote’s] delivery is as gentle and lyrical as a bedtime story… his music and optimism a welcome beacon of hope” The Stage

Here’s Dom to tell us more.

So, Dom, tell us how the show came into being.
I’ve been playing in bands and making theatre since I was a teenager. From my early twenties, I’ve been an artist with Kneehigh and I make all of my work at the Kneehigh Barns in Cornwall. This show was born there, in the middle of an epic storm. It’s an inspirational place, you’re cut off from everything and you can play until dawn if you want.

I wanted to make a show that takes you on an epic journey, both in the story and the music. I also wanted to do something totally electronic. I’m obsessed with analogue synthesisers and I knew from the offset that classic synths and drum machines would be at the heart of the show.

When Trump got into power, I was on tour and my relationship was in trouble. My world was tumbling into the unknown. I wanted to make something immediate. About how to cope with turbulent times. I rang my friend Rich Rusk, the most brilliant director I know, and told him I wanted to make something new.

He suggested The Time Machine by HG Wells. It felt perfect. The idea of going back in time and changing past events, or tumbling forward to see what might become of us, was hugely appealing. Our imaginations got fired up and The Time Machine became the springboard to We Can Time Travel.

Tell us about the show’s other influences.
I’m a massive science-fiction fan. I was obsessed with Stranger Things, The OA and Black Mirror when I started making this show and you can definitely feel their influences. It’s also a real ode to classic movies like Back to the Future and Flight of the Navigator. The character I play (who is basically me, with my inner geek ramped up) is kind of stuck in the past. He’s afraid of living in the present and lives in a fantasy world, rather than facing his fears head on.

Musically, there are some really strong influences. Kate Bush is the big one. The longing, sweeping synth sounds set against her intricate, unusual vocal lines definitely influenced my songwriting.

I was also listening to electronica artists like Fourtet, Aphex Twin and Bonobo when I made the show. Bowie and Talking Heads were also playing on loop on my Spotify account when Rich and I were writing the script.

Pics and film by Paul Blakemore

What form does the show take?
Well, it’s a real cross between music gig and theatre show. There are some total bangers and more reflective tracks, and a wildly adventurous story that holds it all together. There’s beautiful set design by Ruth Shepherd who is a bit of a genius. It feels like a Wes Anderson movie mixed with a Michel Gondry music video.

I sing and play everything, and take the audience on an epic adventure. The real delight in it for me is seeing the audience go to that imaginative, fantastical place with me. It reminds people how it feels to be lost in a story, just like when we were children.

And how would you define the mood of the piece?
It’s rousing, melancholic, at times overwhelming and also surprisingly stupid.

What do you hope to send audiences away thinking and feeling?
(Spoiler alert!) In the show, the character I play has learned to time travel. He can go back and  forward in time – but he can’t change anything, he can’t even be seen, he is a ghost, unseen, unheard. He tries to get back to his present, but he can’t, he’s lost in time.

It’s a metaphor really, about apathy, anxiety and disengaging from reality. I have experienced a lot this in my own life. I wanted to make something that would wake me up, and funnily enough, making this show brought me face to face with my own depression which I had been avoiding dealing with for a long time.

The show woke me up and inspired me. It made me believe in myself and in the power of positivity. I hope it does that for others too. I hope it reminds them to grab the present moment,  to look up and speak up, to hold hands and tell someone they love them, to believe that we can make the world a better place.

We Can Time Travel is at Bristol Old Vic from May 16-18. For more info, visit bristololdvic.org.uk/whats-on/we-can-time-travel

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