Sweeney Todd

directed by Amy Vyskocil-Flint

Returning to London after his wrongful imprisonment, Sweeney Todd is driven to revenge. With the help of his accomplice, Mrs Lovett, he reopens his barber shop and kills his customers with the hope of killing the man behind his false conviction and his wife's death.

Marketplace Ambience

Asylum Ambience

Murder Soundscape

Sound was important in underscoring setting and atmosphere throughout the play. Dense ambiences were produced to convey a wide variety of locations from the bustling streets of London to Jonas Fogg’s Asylum. Since death and gore were prevalent, the sound had to be just as grisly. Abrasive and dissonant soundscapes accentuated the psychological chaos and brutality of the murder scenes, and visceral sound processing was applied to gunshots and Mrs Lovett’s oven.

I also had the opportunity to write original music, utilising strings and haunting bells to complement the Victorian England setting and macabre mood and atmosphere. These cues range from foreboding and creepy, to fragile and bittersweet.

'Johanna's Theme' is build from a bittersweet melody that illustrates that despite having hope that she will eventually be independent and free from the clutches of Judge Turpin, her fate is ultimately out of her hands. The melody repeatedly rises and falls to highlight that no matter how much she wants it, nothing will change.

'Tragedy at the Masquerade' plays as Mrs Lovett's recounts Lucy's sexual assault. The piece begins as a dissonant Waltz but later into the monologue it is gradually pitch-shifted and distorted until it becomes a noisy, atonal mess, mirroring the highly disturbing and repulsive nature of the assault.

The remaining tracks are stingers that help to ease the transitions between scenes and to reinforce the mood and atmosphere.

 Johanna's Theme

 Tragedy at the Masquerade

 Another Life Claimed (Stinger)

 A Silver Lining (Stinger)

 Duality of Man (Stinger)

 Devil's Lullaby (Stinger)

 Johanna's Reprise (Stinger)

Photos by Cassie Woollaston