The Seckerson Tapes: Composer Dario Marianelli

Dario Marianelli won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his score for the movie Atonement, and his return to the theatre after a long absence as composer for the Young Vic's new production of Tennessee Williams's first big Broadway success, The Glass Menagerie, is hotly anticipated. In the rehearsal room he talks about the intricate process that marries music to drama, be it on celluloid or stage. He talks about what fires his imagination and how, for instance, a typewriter (in Atonement) or a piano (in Pride and Prejudice) might unlock the colour and character of a score.

Williams's plays - and especially this one, generally accepted now as autobiographical - are rooted in reality but rich in poetic imagery, a kind of heightened dream world. In this case Laura's little glass animals point to her fragility and vulnerability. Director Joe Hill-Gibbins believes that this character and this play are the closest we ever get to Tennessee Williams's inner world.

Marianelli has been lucky with Joes: Joe Wright (for Pride and Prejudice and Atonement) opened more doors for him in Hollywood; Joe Hill-Gibbins has lured him back to where the music will be live and integral to the onstage drama. Think glass, think improvised percussion, think sound effects... It's unusual for a composer to be so much a part - hands on, in every respect - of the rehearsal process. What has he come up with? Click and listen...

Listen to this episode

• The Glass Menagerie runs at the Young Vic from 11 November until 1 January, 2011
• Listen to the music of Dario Marianelli