My latest work for The Lyric in Belfast was to design the sound for Sadie, for both a staged version (albeit to no-audience this time round) and then supervise the sound transfer for the BBC4 and BBC Two NI transmission. It was filmed for Television in March 2021
Written by David Ireland, and directed by Conleth Hill, this unflinching play focuses on a Belfast woman reflecting on her turbulent life amidst the troubled past. Sharp-tongued cleaner, Sadie, develops an intense, dysfunctional yet passionate relationship with a much younger man triggering a psychological showdown with the remnant demons of her past.
Part of my design for this production involved creating the twin worlds of Sadie’s domestic life, and the ‘somewhere nowhere’ world of her inner narrative and turmoil.
For the latter, director Conleth Hill hinted at the the sound and music of chanters and pipes. So I called on the expertise of renowned pipe maker Michael York, with whom I worked to create some interesting palettes of chanter ambiences.
Sadie is presented as part of BBC Lights Up; a major festival of UK theatre adapted for TV and radio at a time when theatres throughout the UK are closed. Continuing its Culture in Quarantine initiative – bringing arts and culture into the nation’s homes – BBC Arts has partnered with theatres across the country to produce this unprecedented season of 18 plays for audiences at home.
Sadie is a Lyric Theatre Production in association with Field Day Theatre Company and is broadcast for BBC Arts’ Lights Up festival as part of Culture in Quarantine.
ADIE – Abigail McGibbon
RED – Patrick Jenkins
CLARK – David Pearse
JOAO – Santino Smith
MAIREAD – Andrea Irvine
WRITER – David Ireland
DIRECTOR – Conleth Hill
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR – Seon Simpson
SET DESIGNER – Stuart Marshall
LIGHTING DESIGNER – Paul Keogan
SOUND DESIGNER – Chris Warner
COSTUME – Gillian Lennox & Erin Charteris
FIGHT DIRECTOR – Lemuel Black
VOICE DIRECTOR – Patricia Logue