Dundead Halloween: The Phantom of the Opera (100th Anniversary) with live score

Name: Dundead Halloween: The Phantom of the Opera (100th Anniversary) with live score
Start: 2025-10-31T19:30:00+00:00
End: 2025-10-31T19:30:00+00:00

Duration: 1h32m

Dates: Fri 31 Oct 2025 19:30

Part of Dundead Halloween 2025. Tickets and passes go on sale to Members, Friends and Patrons at 10:00 on Mon 1 September (make sure you're logged in to book) with general sale beginning at 10:00 on Fri 5 September.

Director Rupert Julian’s 1925 film version of The Phantom of the Opera starring Lon Chaney ranks among the greatest horror films of the silent era. To celebrate the milestone 100th anniversary of this iconic film, Dundead has commissioned the composition of a brand-new score by Scottish musicians Andrew Wasylyk and Tommy Perman, to be performed live at five screenings across Scotland, including a special Halloween screening at DCA.

This film from Universal Studios was the first film adaptation of Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel, and one of the first in the iconic series of Universal horror films. Julian’s film is suitably operatic in scope, with Hollywood extravagance, opulent costumes and hundreds of extras. Lon Chaney, ‘the Man of a Thousand faces’, plays Erik, the Phantom, in one of his most celebrated performances. Chaney designed the make-up for this (and many of his other roles), and the Phantom’s appearance, and particularly his unmasking scene, is nothing short of iconic.

The original 1925 release of the film utilised a variety of colour processes, including tinting and a dazzling early use of Technicolour, and there have been numerous reissues of the original film in the intervening years, including a 1929 version with sound. The version that we will be screening is as close to the original, vibrantly coloured silent version as possible.

As is the case for many vintage films, The Phantom of the Opera contains some problematic depictions of disability, so we are particularly pleased that Andrew and Tommy aim to highlight these elements in their score while still celebrating an indelible milestone in cinema culture.

While preparing for writing our score, it’s been fascinating to look closely at how The Phantom of the Opera was constructed. It’s a masterpiece of visual storytelling, and we’re thrilled to compose a new soundtrack that revisits the themes with a contemporary perspective, including drawing attention to some of the more problematic elements of the story such as its portrayal of disability and ableism.

Tommy Perman Composer and musician

Woman and man holding hands against a dark background

The Phantom of the Opera

Dundead presents The Phantom of the Opera on Tour

With live score by Andrew Wasylyk and Tommy Perman

About Andrew Wasylyk and Tommy Perman

Scottish composers Andrew Wasylyk and Tommy Perman have orbited each other’s worlds for a number of years through audio-visual collaborations spanning record releases, films, and sound installations. Wasylyk and Perman’s first collaborative album, Ash Grey and the Gull Glides On, was released in 2024 on Clay Pipe Music to critical acclaim.

Andrew Wasylyk

Andrew Wasylyk’s cinematic compositions have been nominated for the Scottish Album of the Year Award multiple times and have been awarded BBC Radio 6 Music’s Gideon Coe’s Album of the Year. He has collaborated with former National Poet for Scotland, Liz Lochhead, and has written soundtracks for Radio 4.

Website

Tommy Perman

Tommy Perman’s artistic and musical career has earned him a Scottish BAFTA and taken him around the world. He has released numerous records under his own name and with experimental group/arts collective FOUND. His visual artworks have been projected onto the Sydney Opera House and collected by the National Museum of Scotland.

Website