Peter Brewis

Peter Brewis is a composer and instrumentalist who has been active in several spheres of music from ballet and modern dance to music theatre and rock music. Although he was classically trained, studying under the famous French music educator Nadia Boulanger, he is best known for his song-writing for comedy shows such as Spitting Image for which he composed I've Never Met a Nice South African.

Brewis studied composition at the Royal College of Music where he won the Cobbett Prize for composition. After graduation he took lessons in composition from Nadia Boulanger, studied electronic music with Lawrence Casserly and Javanese Gamelan with Alec Roth.

Brewis spent a period as composer-in-residence with Scottish Ballet's Movable Workshop. He composed the music for the company's joint production with Travis Workshop of C. P. Taylor's Columba. Stuart Hopps was the choreographer. Other dance projects includes Finale for Charlie composed for Charles Augin and Endangered Species created for the Kosh Theatre Company.

He has composed several musicals. Some of these were for educational projects. However, his Don Quixote was composed for the husband and wife team of Reg Bolton and Annie Stainer and the Traverse Theatre. Mel Smith and Bob Goody were working on a two-man show at the same venue. Brewis teamed up with them and together they created three black comedy musicals, including Irony in Dorking which won a Fringe First Award and The Gambler whose 1986 revival at the Hampstead Theatre was nominated for an Olivier Award and was also recorded by the specialist musical theatre label First Night Records. Brewis's other musicals include Hansel and Gretel, put on at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith in 1999 and Rat's Ahoy, co-written with Ruby Wax but as yet unperformed though Brewis has provided music for other stage shows of hers. Another revue that won the Fringe First Award in which Brewis was involved was White Collar Club.

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