West End Sound: Gareth Owen on Cinematic Theatre

When you walk into the theatre for Back to the Future the Musical, the magic begins before the curtain rises. Sound effects fill the auditorium as you take your seat. By the time Marty McFly picks up his skateboard, you are not watching a West End show — you are inside a movie. That is entirely deliberate. Gareth Owen, the Tony Award-winning sound designer behind Back to the Future, MJ the Musical, Memphis, and over 300 productions worldwide, has spent 25 years arguing that theatre sound should feel like cinema. He sat down with Atif to discuss Back to the Future, the revolution he started, and why amplification used to be a dirty word.

Who Is Gareth Owen?

Gareth Owen is a multiple Tony Award-winning, Olivier Award-winning sound designer with a career spanning over 25 years across Broadway, London's West End, and Las Vegas. He has designed sound for over 300 commercial productions, experienced by more than 40 million people worldwide.

He was also awarded an honorary doctorate — something he describes as particularly satisfying given that he dropped out of university 20 years earlier.

Back to the Future: Designing the Sound of a Classic

When Gareth was asked to design Back to the Future the Musical, the response was immediate and instinctive: how on earth are they going to do this on stage? The film is defined as much by its sound — Alan Silvestri's iconic score, the flux capacitor, the DeLorean roar — as by any single performance.

"We were asked to do it and we were all kind of like: really? How are we doing this, then? Yeah, just get on with it, we'll do it. Another example of saying yes and then worrying about how the hell you're going to do it later."

The Original Pro Tools Sessions

One of the most fascinating elements of the production was access to the original movie's sound archive. Gareth was given the original Pro Tools sessions — exported from the original tape masters — containing every sound effect from the 1985 film.

"I got the Pro Tools sessions with all of the original sound effects in. It was absolutely fascinating to hear quite how basic they were. At the time they would have been cutting edge, but they're actually quite basic compared to modern sound effects design — one thunder effect, no multiple layering, no spatial distribution. But they were so ridiculously effective when viewed as part of the whole."

Two specific sounds were kept verbatim from the original:

• ▪The flux capacitor activation
• ▪The DeLorean wing doors (the iconic gull-wing opening)

Everything else was rebuilt using the originals as reference points — modernised versions built with current techniques and spatial audio capability.

Movie-Scale Sound Effects in a Theatre

The director gave Gareth extraordinary creative freedom on Back to the Future: almost every movement on stage is accompanied by sound effects, creating a movie foley-esque atmosphere where the sound design operates at a level usually reserved for cinema.

"Your imagination's the limit, really. Where do you stop putting sound effects into things? It became very movie foley-esque — huge scenes where almost every movement is accompanied by a sound effect. That got very complicated, very difficult to make work, but the end result became really something quite special."

The Jurassic Park Problem: Should vs. Can

Gareth's articulation of the central creative trap for sound designers has become something of a guiding principle: the Jurassic Park problem.

"Sound designers are a bit like the engineers at Jurassic Park — sometimes we spend a long time doing something, but we don't actually stop to ask ourselves whether we should. We'll get really attached to: hey, I created this really cool reverb moment, I created this really cool dinosaur. But should I actually have created the dinosaur? Is it actually the right thing for the show?"

The most technically impressive sound moment is not always the right one. Restraint — knowing when not to use a technique — is the mark of mature sound design.

The Revolution: Cinematic Sound in Theatre

Gareth's most significant contribution to the theatre world may be the philosophy he has pushed for over a decade: that theatrical sound design should be cinematic, not hidden.

When he started his career, amplification was a dirty word. The professional assumption was that sound should be invisible — audiences should not be aware that any amplification exists, with everything sounding as though it comes naturally from the stage and the pit orchestra.

"I kind of had a revelation one day where I went: I don't think this is what the audience wants. And I kind of went right out on a limb, and I'm going to make cinematic sound design. I'm not necessarily going to tell everyone that this is what I'm going to do. I'm just going to start doing it and see what happens."

He started pushing shows louder and more amplified. Colleagues derisively called it "Disneyfication." Gareth embraced the label:

"I know that you mean this in a derogatory manner. But this is absolutely what I want to do. More to the point, it's absolutely what I think the audience wants as well."

His reasoning: audiences had grown up with cinema, iPods, Beats headphones, 5.1 home theatre systems, and 17-speaker car audio. They knew what immersive sound felt like. In the context of Braveheart's soundtrack — swords clashing from every direction, a spaceship flying overhead as your gut rumbles — what traditional West End sound design offered felt inadequate by comparison.

"The gamble paid off. That is what audiences want. Even on classic book musicals — your Guys and Dolls, your 42nd Streets — people think they want invisible amplification. But what they actually want is to be swept away. They want to feel the music. They want music and singing to become a visceral experience."

The theatre industry has slowly come around to this view. Gareth believes he was instrumental in shifting the cultural consensus.

Gareth's Home Cinema Setup

For someone who designs theatrical audio systems for a living, Gareth's personal home cinema is fascinatingly specific. Built into the battle with his wife over whether the room would be a cinema or a lounge (he won), the system uses:

• ▪Yamaha AV decoder (Dolby Atmos)
• ▪D&B professional speakers — the same brand used in his theatre installations. "It's not really designed for home cinema and it's quite ludicrously expensive, but it's all the same speaker systems, same technology, same amplifiers I use in the theatre. It sounds absolutely fantastic."
• ▪Dual centre channels (stereo centre — an unusual professional configuration)
• ▪Stereo subwoofers
• ▪4 side/rear surround speakers on stands (lower level)
• ▪4 overhead speakers (pre-cabled during house build — he ran the cables before the ceiling went up)
• ▪Sony Blu-ray player, Apple TV 4K, Synology NAS running Plex for media

On source quality: "I used to think I should only listen to music on CD because that's the purest way. But it just meant I didn't listen to music. As soon as I embraced the MP3 generation, I never looked back. It's slightly the same with movies. Watching something at lower quality is better than not watching it. But for something like Top Gun: Maverick, I ordered the 4K Blu-ray — that's the way it should be experienced."

Key Takeaways

• ▪Gareth Owen is a Tony Award and Olivier Award-winning sound designer with 300+ productions and 40+ million audience members worldwide
• ▪Back to the Future the Musical used the original 1985 movie sound effects as source material — flux capacitor and DeLorean doors kept verbatim, everything else rebuilt for modern spatial audio
• ▪His guiding principle: the Jurassic Park problem — stop to ask whether you should, not just whether you can
• ▪He pioneered cinematic sound design in theatre — pushing against the "amplification is a dirty word" consensus and transforming how West End productions sound
• ▪His personal home cinema uses professional D&B speakers — the same hardware deployed in his commercial theatre installations, driven by a Yamaha Atmos decoder with Plex media server
• ▪He visited Atif's demo space and experienced the M&K 9.2.4 Atmos system + Steinway Lyngdorf — his response: "I'd end up spending a lot of money"

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Gareth Owen, the sound designer?

Gareth Owen is a British sound designer with over 25 years of experience across Broadway, London's West End, and global touring productions. He has designed sound for over 300 commercial productions experienced by more than 40 million people. His major credits include Back to the Future the Musical, MJ the Musical, Memphis the Musical (Tony Award), Mamma Mia, Sister Act, and Bat Out of Hell. He won the Olivier Award for Best New Musical for Back to the Future and holds an honorary doctorate in recognition of his contribution to theatre sound.

How was the sound designed for Back to the Future the Musical?

Gareth Owen was given access to the original Pro Tools sessions containing the 1985 film's complete sound effects archive (exported from the original tape masters). The flux capacitor activation and DeLorean wing doors were retained exactly from the original film. All other sound effects were rebuilt from scratch using the originals as reference, using modern multi-layered spatial audio techniques. The director gave Gareth near-total creative freedom, resulting in a movie foley-style approach where almost every stage movement is accompanied by a sound effect.

What does "cinematic sound design" mean in theatre?

Cinematic sound design in theatre refers to an approach pioneered by designers like Gareth Owen where theatrical productions are mixed and designed to feel like film rather than traditional unamplified theatre. This includes higher volume levels, spatial surround sound, immersive effects, and sub-bass — creating the visceral physical impact audiences associate with cinema. When Gareth began pioneering this approach, colleagues dismissively called it "Disneyfication." He now considers it the industry standard.

What speakers does Gareth Owen use in his home cinema?

Gareth Owen's personal home cinema uses D&B Audiotechnik professional speakers — the same brand he deploys in commercial theatre installations. The system runs on a Yamaha Dolby Atmos decoder with dual centre channels, stereo subs, side/rear surrounds, and four overhead Atmos channels. Sources include Apple TV 4K, Sony Blu-ray, and a Synology NAS running Plex. He describes it as "not traditional at all" but notes it "sounds absolutely fantastic."

Is amplification acceptable in West End musical theatre?

Yes — and the shift from hiding amplification to embracing it is one of the defining evolutions of West End and Broadway sound design over the past two decades. Gareth Owen was one of the most visible advocates for this change, arguing that audiences who experience cinematic audio in their daily lives expect the same immersive quality in theatre. The professional consensus has moved decisively toward his position — amplification is no longer a dirty word but a core part of the theatrical experience.