We’re continuing to celebrate some of the movers and shakers in Cornwall’s vibrant creative community.

Today we’re saying chons da/good luck as composer Matthew Thomason’s brand-new Cornish language song cycle, Arlodhes a Shallot, kicks off its tour across the Duchy today, and we couldn’t be prouder.

Matthew’s a Falmouth-based composer for film, TV, theatre, and games. You might’ve heard his soundtracks in the Nintendo game Europa (Future Friends Games, 2024) or the film Long Way Back (2022), from our friends and HfC Associate Artist alumni o-region. He’s also a touring pianist, performing his own classical works in cities like Venice, Helsinki, Edinburgh, Berlin and beyond.

We’re cheering Matthew on as a member of our Husa community. The HfC Husa programme nurtures the creative industries in Cornwall, providing support, workspace, talent development and career pathways for more than 400 Cornwall-based artists and sector colleagues. From sharing opportunities and building networks, to specialist workshops and skills development programmes, we’re working with freelancers, companies and SMEs to bust through boundaries that are caused by our dispersed, rural and sometimes-isolated community. Together, we’re ensuring Cornwall’s reputation as a dynamo for innovative creative enterprises continues through future generations.

So, what’s Arlodhes a Shallot all about?

Inspired by Tennyson’s The Lady of Shalott and a Pre-Raphaelite exhibition at Falmouth Art Gallery, Matthew was struck by the story’s emotional pull. He says:

“The themes of isolation, personal freedom, self-expression, gender roles, love, and ultimately, death, are so viscerally relevant today. The poem transcends the near 200 years since it was written.”

The piece began life during the Endelienta Arts Cornish Language Residency last July, where Matthew spent a week in St Endellion exploring the Cornish language and developing his creative practice. There, he met Cornish translator Elizabeth Ellis, and together they brought the first verses of the piece to life, performed at the end of the residency in the beautiful St Endellion Church.

Over the next ten months, with support from HfC, Thomason and Ellis worked together to complete the song cycle. Now, it’s time to share it with audiences across Cornwall.

We spoke to Matthew about what led him to his career and how it feels to be a creative working in Cornwall.

Did you always want to be a composer?

I grew up in a very musical family so I was always encouraged to play instruments and express myself. I was in bands for years as a guitarist and vocalist but my passion always lay with writing music on the piano, although I never shared it. I realised at some point that being in bands wasn’t satisfying that part of me anymore so I decided to move into composition. I was lucky to get some opportunities to make music for some short films and that really inspired me to progress and develop as a composer, and later as a performer too. 

What influences your work?

 I’ve always been really inspired by the landscape, so when I moved to Cornwall 9 years ago I had such a rich source of inspiration. I composed a whole suite of piano music called ‘Gwlaskor’, which translates to Kingdom, which I later toured across Europe. My most recent work, Arlodhes a Shalott is a new setting of The Lady of Shalott poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, in Cornish, so I’ve been immersed in a medieval landscape of castles, rivers and tragedy! 

What’s special about being a creative, specifically in Cornwall?

There’s a really strong creative community in Cornwall and a spirit of collaboration that makes it easier to find pathways into making work. As I mentioned above, the landscape here is magic and it invokes a lot of work in response. Cornwall has such an incredible identity and heritage, particularly with its language, that I am really interested in. I have been lucky to work with some incredible creatives here in Cornwall since I arrived in 2016 and I’m looking forward to seeing what the future brings. 

Check out more of Matthew’s work and find out how to book Arlodhes a Shallot at his website: matthewthomasonmusic.co.uk

Images: Hugh Hastings Photography

 

We caught up with 2025 Creation Space recipients Az2B Theatre Company, whose new Cornish musical Redemption has been taking shape with the support of HfC. 

 

Creation Space is a Husa initiative, a scheme we’ve established and retuned over the last decade, providing Cornwall-based artists and creatives an opportunity to forge new work and test ideas as part of HfC’s drive to champion artists and creative careers in Cornwall. 

In 2017 Az2B used a Creation Space grant to develop Grandma on the Moon, which went on to tour nationally and continues to engage audiences around the issues of death and bereavement from a young child’s perspective. 

In 2025, we were pleased to welcome artistic director Belinda Lazenby and the team back as they began to develop Redemption, a new musical exploring issues right at the heart of the national conversation including pollution, cost-of-living and housing. 

“We have had an amazing week, the sheer amount of material generated has been huge! Discussion and brainstorming have consolidated our themes and we now have a clear sense of the structure of the play alongside the music composition from Martin Skews. We are very excited to have begun this journey and are grateful for HfC’s Husa programme and the Creation Space grant.”
– Belinda Lazenby, Az2B Artistic Director 

Next up for Az2B are national tours of The Dementia Trilogy and Grandma on the Moon. For more on these shows and what’s next, visit the Az2B Theatre Company website. 

Meur Ras/Thanks to the Az2B team for being with us – Belinda, Molly, Steve and Martin, we can’t wait to see what’s next with Redemption and your future projects. 

For more about Husa, Creation Space and HfC artist support, visit the Husa page or get in touch. 

You can find out more about Az2B Theatre Company on their website