Gareth Fry trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in Theatre Design and is an multi-award winning sound designer best known for his cutting edge work in theatre and his collaborations with leading UK theatre directors such as John Tiffany, Complicité’s Simon McBurney, Sacha Wares and Katie Mitchell. He has also designed events and exhibitions from the V&A’s landmark David Bowie Is exhibition, Alice: Curious and Curiouser and DIVA to being asked by Danny Boyle to design the sound effects for the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games.
Awards include a Special Tony Award for the sound design of The Encounter, for which he (and co-designer Pete Malkin) also received an Evening Standard Award, a Drama Desk Award and a Helpmann Award; he received an Olivier Award, Tony Award, Drama Desk Award and an Outer Circle Critics Award for best sound design for Harry Potter And The Cursed Child; an Olivier and a Helpmann Award for Black Watch and a Olivier Award for Waves. He has also received an Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) award for Wild Swans and WhatsOnStage Best Sound Design award 2025 for Macbeth.
He is a specialist in the use of spatial and binaural sound, being involved in a number of theatre productions used in Complicite's The Encounter, the BBC's The Dark is Rising, numerous Virtual Reality (VR) experiences, podcasts and advertising campaigns including for Bose, Volvo and land Rover. His work in VR has been featured at the Tribeca, Vienna and Sundance festivals.
His work includes over 20 productions at the Royal National Theatre, over 20 at the Royal Court and countless more at venues such as the Donmar Warehouse, the Old Vic, Young Vic and in the West End. He has worked extensively internationally, including New York, Berlin, Cologne and Dublin.
Future Work Includes:
Guilty transferring to the West End.
Macbeth going to New York.
The Bowie Exhibition is going to Hamburg and Amsterdam.
Recent Work Includes:
The Encounter, The Master & Margarita, Shun-kin, Endgame
(Complicité), Harry Potter And The Cursed Child (London and worldwide), A Christmas Carol John Gabriel Borkman, Bach & Sons, Talking Heads, Beat The Devil (Bridge Theatre), Bedknobs & Broomsticks (UK Tour), Still No Idea (Improbable), Invisible Cities (MIF), Medea, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (West End), Let The Right One In, Black Watch (National Theatre of Scotland), Romeo and Juliet (Almeida), The Barber Shop Chronicles, Othello, The Cat In the Hat, A Matter of Life and Death, Attempts on Her Life, Waves (National Theatre), Othello (Frantic Assembly), John (DV8, National Theatre), Soundscape Design, Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games.
2026
The Guilty - Donmar Warehouse, directed by Felix Barrett.
Paranormal Activity - West End (Ambassadors Theatre), Broadway, US & UK Tour, Canada and Leeds Playhouse, directed by Felix Barrett.
Arcane - Immersive - Punchdrunk, for Riot Games: Tencent Video, SMG Live, Wajijiwa Entertainment.
A Doll’s House - Almeida Theatre. Directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins.
Hamlet Hail To The Thief - Barbican Theatre. Created by Christine Jones, Steve Hoggatt and Thom Yorke.
Grease The Immersive Movie Musical - Secret Cinema. Directed by Matt Costai.
New book: Immersive Spatial Sound - A guide to creating 3D Sound in live, recorded and digital environments.
2025
Rise – Opening event for Bradford UK City of Culture
Hamlet Hail To The Thief - Aviva Studios and RSC. Created by Christine Jones, Steven Hoggett and Thom Yorke.
Thrika: Night of Remembering - International tour, Akram Khan Company, Directed by Akram Khan.
Til The Stars Come Down - Haymarket Theatre. Directed by Bijan Sheibani.
Viola’s Room - The Shed, NYC. Punchdrunk. Directed by Felix Barrett and Hector Harkness.
Grease The Immersive Movie Musical - Secret Cinema. Directed by Matt Costai.
Let The Right One In - Korea for NTS. Directed by John Tiffany.
The Land of the Living - National Theatre. Directed by Stephen Daldry.
Lander 23 - Punchdrunk. Directed by Felix Barrett.
Paranormal Activity - West End (Ambassadors Theatre), Broadway, US & UK Tour, Canada and Leeds Playhouse, directed by Felix Barrett.
A Christmas Carol - Sheffield Crucible. Directed by Elin Schofield.
2024
Til The Stars Come Down - Dorfman Theatre, NT. Directed by Bijan Sheibani.
Player Kings - UK tour & Noel Coward Theatre. Directed by Robert Icke.
Viola’s Room - Punchdrunk. Directed by Felix Barrett and Hector Harkness. Nominated for WhatsOnStage Best Sound Design award 2025.
Paranormal Activity - Leeds Playhouse. Directed by Felix Barrett.
The Sound Inside - Traverse Theatre. Directed by Matt Wilkinson.
Harry Potter And The Cursed Child - US tour. Directed by John Tiffany.
Macbeth - Harold Pinter Theatre. Directed by Max Webster. Winner of WhatsOnStage Best Sound Design award 2025.
Pinocchio - Stratford East. Directed by Omar F Okai.
He regularly runs workshops for directors exploring how they can use sound design in their work. These workshops have been commissioned by the National Theatre, Sadler's Wells, Complicité, the Prague Quadrennial, Mousetrap Theatre Projects, National Student Drama Festival, the Brit School, the JMK Awards and the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama.
He is a founder of, and former chairman of the Association of Sound Designers, a charity that works to support people entering and working in, the UK theatre sound industry. Gareth is an honorary fellow of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.
Publications:
Sound Design for the Stage - A new book by Gareth Fry, published by the Crowood Press. More info
