He composed the scores for a series of well received National Theatre productions, including War Horse (2007) and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (2011).
[4] The score for War Horse two years later is interspersed with simple folk songs on which Sutton collaborated with John Tams.
[5] The instrumental sections draw on his interest in English music of the early and mid twentieth century (especially Bax, Finzi and Walton).
The Curious Incident score of 2011 was influenced by another enthusiasm - the electronic studio music of Mike Oldfield and Aphex Twin.
[8] In June 2023 his Violin Concerto (2023) and other orchestral pieces, including an extended suite for orchestra constructed from the War Horse score, were performed live at the Southbank Centre with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, soloist Fenella Humphreys,[9] and subsequently recorded by Chandos Records.