Nitro Staff, from left, Martin, Bryan, Naomi, Felix, Michael, Allyson and Debo
Felix Cross Artistic Director
Felix has been the company’s Artistic Director since 1996. Previous to this he was a freelance composer, playwright, lyricist and director and continues to work with several other companies and artists in a freelance capacity. For Nitro he has written the book for The Wedding Dance, which he also co-directed with Debra Michaels; directed Mass Carib (composed by Felix in 1987); written the music and lyrics for The Evocation of Papa Mas’ (in association with Told by an Idiot); directed the music for High Heeled Parrotfish (in association with Talawa and Theatre Royal Stratford East); written the book for Slamdunk, which he also co-directed with Benji Reid; written the book, music and lyrics for Passports to the Promised Land; co-written the book (with Paulette Randall) of Up Against The Wall; written the music and lyrics of Tricksters’ Payback; directed ICED, by Ray Shell. He also directed several productions for the annual NITRObeat festival.
Away from Nitro Felix has written several musicals including Blues For Railton (Albany Empire); Glory! (Temba) and composed the music for over seventy stage, TV and radio productions including Macbeth, Talking to Terrorists, O Go My Man, The Overwhelming (all for Out of Joint); Ghostdancing, Ryman & The Sheik, Strictly Dandia, A Fine Balance (all for Tamasha); The Bottle Imp, Jekyll & Hyde (both for Major Road); Agathon (music for the entire canon of Agatha Christie’s plays – all 23 of them – for the “Agathon” festival at the Palace Theatre Westcliffe-on-Sea) as well as productions for Nottingham Playhouse, Chichester Festival Theatre, Tricycle, Gate Theatre, Southwalk Playhouse and Hampstead Theatre. As a director he has worked for Greenwich Theatre, Wyvern Theatre Swindon and for BBC R4.
Allyson Devenish Artistic Associate
Allyson is from Ottawa, Canada where she studied piano and violin privately and at the Conservatoire de Musique du Quebec. She completed her undergraduate studies at Oberlin College (Ohio, USA), following which, she came to London to do postgraduate work at the Royal Academy of Music.
Allyson has been much in demand as a chamber musician, musical director, recitalist, repetiteur and teacher. Internationally, she has performed in France, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, Canada, the United States as well as throughout the United Kingdom. She has played for masterclasses at the Banff Centre (Banff, Canada) and the Britten-Pears School (Aldeburgh). Allyson was Music Director for the premiere of Looking At The Sun (BAC), Kismet (Arcola Theatre) and Assistant Music Director for Porgy and Bess (Lisbon). She has recorded for the BBC, CBC, Radio France, and RTE 1 (Eire).
Allyson created the chamber ensemble ‘syncopation’ early in 2004 with the aim of highlighting and performing unknown, undiscovered and unheard music by black composers.
Debo Adebayo Digital Planning and Marketing
Debo became part of the Nitro family in 2009. He previously worked as music supervisor in ‘Muhammad Ali and Me’ and as assistant composer in ’Moj of the Antarctic’ at the Oval House and Lyric Theatre respectively.
When he’s not implementing Nitro’s digital strategy, Debo works tirelessly in the music, media and arts industries as a music supervisor and creative music synchronisation consultant as well as a record label manager, DJ, producer and promoter. Debo also has an MA in Music Business Management.
