He was born in Manchester of Anglo-Indian parents and is the nephew of playwright and screenwriter Robert Bolt.
[2][3][4] His father is literary critic Sydney Bolt, author of several books including A preface to James Joyce, and his mother has worked as a teacher of English.
His version of Cyrano de Bergerac opened on New York at the Roundabout Theatre in September 2012, with Douglas Hodge in the title role.
His adaptation of Volpone for Sir Trevor Nunn, was produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company in the summer of 2015.
Among his works are: In 2014 he wrote an English version of the text for Mozart's comic opera, The Impresario, which was given by The Santa Fe Opera in Santa Fe, New Mexico in a double bill paired with Igor Stravinsky's The Nightingale.