What were your first impressions of the play?

I think, like most people my age in this country, my first interaction with this story was actually through the 2016 film. I knew it was based on a play but I think the nature of theatre in our country for a long time has made it so that stories like these haven’t been accessible first-hand (in the way they were intended to be). So, to be a part of it coming to life on the stage here is wonderful. The thing that struck me most, initially, after hearing the actors read for the first time, was how incredibly grounded and realistic the dialogue is while also being filled with a rhythm and musicality. It’s very much like the way my father spoke to me growing up.

When you're designing and composing a show like this – where do you start?

My first move with a show like this is to look at where and when it’s set and draw from there. Although it doesn’t have the same mainstream notoriety as other places, Pittsburgh in the 50s was one of the most influential music cities in the world and that thing they say about New York – ‘if you can make it there you can make it anywhere’ – was also very true about Pittsburgh at the time. It was a playground for Black blues, jazz and rock musicians who were able to play around the world as a result of making a name for themselves in Pittsburg. So, naturally I knew that’s the world we would be living in for Fences.

“Pittsburgh in the 50s was one of the most influential music cities in the world...”

Music is an important part of the theme in this play – how have you approached this fact in your sound design?

One concept I’ve been playing with is around the idea that music that can be found within carpentry. There’s a rhythm and drive that arises when sawing and hammering and working with timber that I wanted to try and marry with the musical world of 1950s Pittsburgh. It’s amazing how when you’re working on something like that with a radio on in the background you can find yourself unintentionally working in time with the music, which is an idea I wanted to touch on here. When composing and scoring I like to think of things in terms of different colours and for the most part, you try to explore all the moods across the spectrum. But, when a play comes along like this that’s so culturally specific, and of such a lived in world, for me it becomes less about touching on all the different colours and more about working with different shades within one colour. Trying to find ways to support the varying energies and emotions while still inhabiting the music scene that was flourishing there at the time. 

“Bert LaBonté and Zahra Newman…are just some of the most ridiculously talented, hard-working and entertaining actors I’ve ever been around.”

You must have done a great deal of research of this production – what were some of your favourite discoveries/references? 

One of my favourite things I’ve learnt throughout this process is just how well the artists of the time were able to achieve different emotions within the forms they were defining and creating. Most blues you come across is only three chords and a heap of repetition, but the way they could say one thing at the start of a song and have it mean one thing then say the exact same thing at the end of a song and have it feel completely different is truly special. Another thing I picked up along the way is that August Wilson had one of the most significant record collections in the world, which goes to show how truly important the music was to him.

What's it been like working with the amazing team behind this production? 

Working with this team is such a joy. I’ve been hoping to create something with Shari for years now and to have it be on a project like this has been as fulfilling as I knew it would be. Lights and sound are quite closely built elements and working with someone as sharp and knowledgeable as Verity Hampson makes the job exciting. This is the second time I’ve been lucky enough to work with Bert LaBonté and Zahra Newman and they are just some of the most ridiculously talented, hard-working and entertaining actors I’ve ever been around. Their attention to the detail and the way they draw meaning from text is always inspiring and I feel super lucky to be involved.

August Wilson's Fences is on stage at Wharf 1 Theatre until 6 May 2023.