Leo Mercer
Leo Mercer is a multi-disciplinary artist, working across theatre, music and creative technology. With his company leo&hyde, he creates music theatre, outdoor projections, VR experiences and sound installations, with a leaning to themes of pop culture (The Marriage of Kim K; Pop Art), modern love (GUY; Double Life VR) and life with modern technology (The VR Diary of Attica Lehane; The Coffee Shop Musical).
Leo studied at the University of Manchester and University of Oxford. Since then, his work has been performed nationwide, including commissions from the National Theatre and The Lowry. Outside of musical theatre, he works as a freelancer in VR. He was creative producer for the 2121 Museum of Plastic for COP26, which was nominated for a Social Innovation award at the International VR Awards 2022.
leo&hyde
leo&hyde is led by writer Leo Mercer, who leads on the concepts and creative direction of the work and, together with resident sound designer Dan Mawson, produces their early workshops (aka beta tests).
Their lead composer is Stephen Hyde (aka &hyde), whose innovative, sophisticated electronic soundscapes are the core of their musical style, and is the composer behind their foundational shows Marriage of Kim K, GUY, Pop Art and The Coffee Shop Musical.
Their dream is to come up with a style of music theatre that is fast and futuristic.
Whether they’re reimagining old stories like Galileo as the story of the birth of technology or Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro for a world of the Kardashians; whether they’re using VR to tell gay stories or AI to tell stories about human life in coffee shops; whether they’re playing with cutting-edge techniques in AI, VR, mo-cap; whether they’re working on big stages or educational settings, they’re always asking how to bring the ancient power of musical storytelling into the world of now.