About
A theatre writer who scores for theme parks.
Nick Hutson is a British composer, lyricist, arranger, sound designer and producer whose work spans musical theatre, themed entertainment and immersive attractions.
He has established himself as one of the UK's leading composers for themed entertainment. Since 2013 he has created original music and immersive audio experiences for attractions across the UK, Europe, North America and Asia — working with Merlin Entertainments, Holovis, Firefly Creations, Super 78, Yessian Music, CONDUCTR, Aspro Parks, Clacton Pier and National Forest Adventure Farm.
His background is theatrical and it shows in the work. A formal education in music and theatre laid the foundation for a way of writing in which the score is not background but part of the storytelling — from eerie, suspenseful soundscapes to uplifting, adventurous scores, each tailored to the narrative and emotional impact of the attraction.
Halloween has become a particular specialism, with original scores for Thorpe Park Fright Nights, Scarefest at Alton Towers Resort, ScreamFest Burton, Howl-O-Scream at SeaWorld San Diego and Clacton FEAR. Career highlights include the soundtrack to the groundbreaking Sub Species: The End Games in 2015, the music for Croc Drop and the complete ride soundtrack for Tomb Blaster, where he can also be heard as the voice of the High Priest.
He is especially proud of several long-standing collaborations. For Oakwood Theme Park he has composed bespoke music for themed lands, multiple Halloween attractions and two original fireworks spectaculars. For Aspro Parks he created original music for Bristol Aquarium and the company's corporate radio jingle. He works closely with Clacton Pier on seasonal events including fireworks spectaculars and the Clacton FEAR Halloween event.
As a musical theatre writer, Nick composed Theme Park Fan: The Musical during the 2020 lockdown as a celebration of theme park enthusiasts and the communities they build. He is also composer and co-lyricist of Marie Tussaud: A Chamber Musical and Just William, the latter developed with the permission and support of the Richmal Crompton estate.
Career
The shape of it.
Step through it, year by year.
Episode 1: A Wicked Opening47:25Episode 1, from the MusicalTalk archive.
2006
MusicalTalk begins
An independent podcast for musical theatre, named podcast of the week by The Times that December. Still running and the UK's longest-running independent arts podcast.
MusicalTalkStockholmPublished as studio recordings.
2011
Stockholm
Bryony Lavery's two-hander at The Network Theatre, London. A play about a relationship closing in on itself, scored to stay deliberately domestic — music that could plausibly be playing in the room.
Stockholm
Megafobia Soundtrack27:50Oakwood, one of the longest of the collaborations that followed.
2013
Into themed entertainment
The first attraction commissions. A background in musical theatre turns out to be the right training for music that has to carry a story at the pace of a ride track.
Oakwood Theme Park
Cabaret Des Distraction - Icarus Wings5:34"Icarus Wings", from the Café de Paris score.
2014
Cabarét Dés Distractions
A full original score for Café de Paris, written with Reuben Kaye and the creative team and produced through rehearsals and previews — the version that opened is not the version that was commissioned, by design.
Cabarét Dés Distractions
Alton Towers Scarefest 2015: SubSpecies - The Labyrinth Entrance1:32
2015
Sub Species: The End Games
The Scarefest maze at Alton Towers that made Halloween a specialism rather than a season.
Sub Species: The End GamesAlso this year
We're Theme Park Fans (on YouTube)2:54
2020
Theme Park Fan: The Musical
Written during lockdown, with the parks shut — book, music, lyrics and orchestrations, assembled remotely and covered by BBC North West and BBC Lancashire.
Theme Park Fan: The MusicalAlso this year
Croc Drop Music and Soundtrack2:55
2021
Croc Drop
Chessington's flagship drop tower, scored around the ride's own shape — an ostinato that tightens as the tower climbs and a silence at the top that is written rather than merely empty.
Croc Drop
Sea World Howl O Scream 2024 Music4:43
2024
Howl-O-Scream, San Diego
The Halloween work crosses the Atlantic, for SeaWorld San Diego. The same year, Journey into Hobbledown is written for Hobbledown Adventure Farm and Zoo's following season.
Howl-O-ScreamAlso this year
Monster Motel, OklahomaCONDUCTR's own film of the attraction.
2025
Monster Motel, Oklahoma
Interactive challenge rooms for CONDUCTR, installed at Main Event in Norman, Oklahoma — a set of modular rooms that can be re-themed, so the score cannot be welded to one theme.
Monster Motel
Two Halloween seasons at once
2026
Two Halloween seasons at once
Clacton FEAR returns to the pier, and SeaWorld San Diego's Spooktacular runs alongside the Howl-O-Scream work from two years before — the family event and the after-dark one, same park, same weeks, opposite audiences.
SpooktacularAlso this year
Next
Your project
That is the story so far. New ride, seasonal event, area refresh, or a show that needs writing from nothing — the next entry on this list is yours. Tell Nick what it is and when it opens.
Broadcasting
On the other side of the microphone.
Since 2007 Nick has created and presented MusicalTalk, interviewing many of the world's leading writers, performers and creatives working in musical theatre. He also contributes to The Season Pass Podcast, one of the world's leading podcasts dedicated to themed entertainment.
Also heard on
- BBC Radio London
- BBC News Manchester
- BBC Lancashire
- BBC Radio Kent
- Heart FM
- Scala FM
- Rock FM
- TalkTV
- Channel 5
