I have composed the score to Stolen at Sydney Theatre Company, written by Jane Harrison and Directed by Ian Michael
“James Brown’s composition and sound design brilliantly reinforces the impending sense of doom throughout the work, with sounds of rain, looming footsteps, the ‘line up’ bell, as well as cutting the tension and building the humour in needed moments of relief such as the hold music on the phone. Mainly using soundscapes of high, string instruments, stringed instrument harmonics and percussive sounds, the sound design fuels the works intensity. There’s a particularly powerful musical moment in the scene where Jimmy’s despair overcomes him as he’s consumed by self-loathing, hurt and betrayal. The sounds of string instruments swell, becoming higher pitched, louder and faster. While not atonal and jarring, the constant unresolved cadences enforce such a sense of discomfort – it’s an introspective and unsettling kind of confronting” – Theatre Thoughts
“holding together this remarkable storytelling is James Brown’s ongoing orchestral score, sublime but understated, and punctuated with sounds and (adult) voices driving the story. Brown’s outstanding work relieves the repetition in Harrison’s regular pace of short scenes, but so does her final chapters when the grown-up kids depart and the Home is closed, to be converted into luxury apartments! ” – Stage Whispers
Director Ian Michael
Designer Renée Mulder
Lighting Designer Trent Suidgeest
Composer & Sound Designer James Brown
With
Jarron Andy, Mathew Cooper, Kartanya Maynard, Stephanie Somerville