S3 E3 : Conversations with Sound Designers - Niamh Gaffney
Niamh is a Theatre Sound Designer for Autograph Sound. Born and raised in Ireland, After studying Theatre Performance & Production, focusing on Dance & Musical Theatre, Niamh decided her passion lay in production and moved to London in 2017 to study BA (Hons) Production and Technical Arts at LAMDA. Niamh worked as Associate for Autograph Sound Designers Nick Lidster, Ian Dickinson & Luke Swaffield for such productions as Cabaret (Westend & Broadway), Secret Cinema’s ‘Bridgerton’ & ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and ‘Fiddler on The Roof (Barbican). Working a mixture of theatre genres such as Musicals, Plays and Immersive. Aswell as creating her own journey as a Sound Designer, she has worked on productions such as These Demons (Theatre 503), Fair Maid of The West (RSC) and A Child of Science (Bristol Old Vic), with works as a co-designer along with Ian Dickinson for ‘Waiting for Godot’ (Haymarket, London) and Terry Jardine for ‘The Producers’ (Meiner Chocolate Factory, London).
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S3 E2 : Conversations with Sound Designers - Jonathan Deans
Jonathan Deans is an English sound designer with a wealth of experience whose career has been in the UK and USA.He is a five-time Tony award nominee, winning in 2025 for Buena Vista Social Club,and has won countless other awards.His work spans musical productions on Broadway, West End and worldwide, as well as plays and spectacles, including 16 productions for Cirque de Sole.His recent musicals include: Redwood, Buena Vista Social Club, and Hippist Trip the Soul train musical.His ability to create immersive soundscapes has earned him a reputation as one of the leading sound designers in the entertainment industry.He's known for his attention to detail and ability to seamlessly integrate sound into the production's overall concept, elevating the music and audience's experience.Jonathan has taught and created graduate and undergraduate theater sound design courses at UCLA, UNLV and UCSD and has given lectures at many conventions.In addition to being a freelance sound designer, he's recently started working with Meyer sound to develop future software for the sound industry.
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S3 E1 : Conversations with Sound Designers - Gareth Owen
Gareth Owen is one of the worlds leading Sound Designers, with a prolific career spanning over 25yrs. His work can be found all over the world including Broadway, Las Vegas and London's West End. He's designed over 250 productions, with over 50 million people enjoying his sound designs worldwide. Gareth is the proud recipient of a Tony Award for MJ the Musical, and Olivier Awards for Come from Away, Memphis and Merrily We Roll Along.
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S2 E6 : Conversations with Sound Designers - John Leonard
John Leonard produced his first sound design in September 1972 for a production of A Streetcar Named Desire at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre Company's Little Theatre. Since then, he has: produced countless soundtracks for theatres around the world; spent eleven years with the Royal Shakespeare Company; worked regularly as a freelancer for the Almeida Theatre, Hampstead Theatre and Donmar Warehouse; written articles and a book about theatre sound and developed a sideline in recording sound effects. He is a Fellow at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, an Honorary Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts and a Companion of the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts.
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S2 E5 : Conversations with Sound Designers - Nicola T Chang
Nicola T. Chang is an award-winning composer/sound designer for stage and screen from Hong Kong, now currently based in London. She was the Composer/Sound Designer on the 2020/21 Old Vic 12 and a co-winner of the Evening Standard Future Theatre Fund (Audio Design) in 2021. She started her theatre career in performance, having performed in STOMP! West End and Six the Musical, and continues to perform alongside her composition and sound design work. Most recent theatre credits as composer/sound designer include For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy (Apollo Theatre/Royal Court Jerwood Downstairs/New Diorama), My Neighbour Totoro (RSC/Barbican) and Kerry Jackson (National Theatre
‘Conversations with Sound Designers’ is a series of interviews with Theatre Sound designers about their career paths the artistic process of sound design
Focusing on UK Sound Designers, including a wide range of artists, from established designers to those and the start of their career, from content-based shows to musicals, west end, Broadway and the regions
This episode is kindly supported by Association for Sound Design and Production, The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and the National Theatre Sound Department.