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Beth Duke

sound design . composition

 

Beth (she/her) is a sound designer and composer based in London. She studied Theatre Sound at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Beth's experience covers a wide range of theatre, plays, musicals, and events. She was recently nominated for an Offie Award for Best Sound Design, and was resident sound designer at the Almeida Theatre.

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Sound Design

immersive, stage, screen

Press
Luke Dyson

immersive

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stage

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screen

press

"Beth Duke’s excellent sound design also deserves special mention, imbuing Isla...with a presence that far exceeds her plastic casing. " Guardian 2021 | Isla ​ "Beth Duke’s sound design successfully transports us to the Golden Age of Hollywood, and together with the warm and suffused lighting of Amy Mae, we really feel like a fly on the wall witnessing a small moment in a man’s history with potential great consequences for History as a whole." LondonTheatreReviews 2023 | Retrograde, Kiln Theatre ​ "Beth Duke's sound is stunning. Like the lighting it explodes all round the theatre abruptly and with a sonic ping, never too booming." FringeReview 2023 | Death Drop: Back in the Habit ​ "The lighting and sound design, by Rory Beaton and Beth Duke, elevate the simple set and manage to create some unexpected jump scares. "BeckyWeaver.co.uk 2023 | Death Drop: Back in the Habit ​ "Great sound design from Beth Duke underscores the relentlessness, tension and downright stupidity of the trial." EverythingTheatre 2023 | Trial of Josie K ​ " A beautiful late sequence sees all three characters moving through the set as Beth Duke’s score and Elliot Griggs’ lighting mirror the shifts from the comforting to the unsettling." The Stage 2023 | Trial of Josie K ​ "A special mention to Elliot Griggs for his perfect lighting design and Beth Duke’s music and sound design which seamlessly support the storytelling." EverythingTheatre 2023 | Trial of Josie K "Jesse Jones’ direction makes full use of Peter McKintosh’s very atmospheric set which, when combined with Beth Duke’s sound design and Rory Keaton’s lighting, create the perfect setting for the unfolding and entrancing story " LondonTheatre1 2022 | Death Drop: Back in the Habit ​ "Sound (Beth Duke) was particularly well utilised to enable the audience to access the hallucinatory noise inside Gill’s head. " London-Unattached 2023 | Akedah  ​ "Beth Duke’s sparse sound design undercuts the grinding conversations with a soft, steady rumble that builds as the exchanges grow more heated. But it’s when Gill is left alone, and intrusive thoughts threaten to overwhelm her, that this low soundscape suddenly erupts into a roaring thunder filled with layered voices, a cacophonous reminder of the guilt and shame that is always ready to overwhelm her." The Stage 2023 | Akedah ​ "The noise of everything.” By the last scene, this noise has to be turned up “so loud, we might not be able to hear them [Gillian and Kelly]”. Well done to sound designer Beth Duke for tackling that one so well." TheArtsDesk 2023 | Akeadah ​​ "With direction from Jesse Jones, there are still great elements to this production with a particularly good use of lighting from Rory Beaton and sound from Beth Duke." Allthatdazzles 2022 | Death Drop: Back in the Habit "Zoe Spurr illuminates those portraits in ever shifting colours while sound designer and composer Beth Duke brings us those classical arrangements we instantly associate with grandeur and pomp." AlwaysTimeForTheatre 2022 | Importance of Being Earnest ​ "Beth Duke’s sound design evokes images through thrashing waves or toilet flushes" Guardian 2022 | A Single Man "The.. use of sound effects is excellent (Beth Duke) – George urinating, honking his car horn, or in one delightful moment, George’s books talking to him: “One at a time” says George as the books all gibber away together." Spyinthestalls 2022 | A Single Man "Medway's song at the end of act one (a royalty-free edition of "My Favourite Thing" written by Beth Duke) is a winner and what really kicks the show into high gear." WhatsOnStage 2022 | Death Drop: Back in the Habit "Beth Duke’s sound design reinforces the period and injects energy with humorous snippets from talking books to movie scores." MorningStar 2022 | A Single Man "Beth Duke’s sound design is present throughout and supported greatly by the gorgeous scoring which seems, like George, to avoid the longing, heartbreak, and pain beneath the surface. " LondonTheatreReviews 2022 | A Single Man "Beth Duke’s sound design works well, with music early on and then with funny moments." Everything Theatre 2022 | A Single Man "The use of sound effects is excellent" Spy in the stalls 2022 | A Single Man "Lily Arnold’s design, complemented by Zoe Spurr’s lighting and Beth Duke’s sound, perfectly evoked the period" NorthWestEnd 2022 | Importance of Being Earnest "Pretty much every aspect of this production is top notch with beautiful lighting from Prema Mehta and sound from Beth Duke" Allthatdazzles 2022 | Mad House "Simisola Majekodunmi’s pulsating lights and Beth Duke’s eclectic sounds, incorporating key tunes from the carnival culture, prove essential to the bare-bones evocation of the play’s setting." BroadwayWorld2021 | J'Ouvert "The design combines with Joshua Gadsby’s lighting and Beth Duke’s sound design to great effect on many occasions and result in some clever ‘trickery’. PagetoStage 2022 | Alice in Wonderland "As chaos builds, all the components of sound, design and movement weave themselves together in a glorious theatrical tapestry, resulting in a ludicrous spectacle."The Reviews Hub 2022 | Mog the Forgetful Cat "Smoke swirls around the couple’s meetings and partings, underscored by composer Benedict Taylor’s unsettling soundscape (realised by sound designer Beth Duke)."Jewish Renaissance 2020 | One Jewish Boy

about Beth

Hailing from the vibrant world of Basildon (or as locals fondly call it, basvegas), Beth's musical journey began in the eclectic symphony of her working class upbringing. With a cabbie dad and a nurse mother (before becoming unwell), music permeated every corner of her home. Inspired by the tunes echoing through the household, Beth set out to master instruments, despite not being very good at them...the school offered free 1 on 1 music lessons to GCSE students which is where she learnt to play the piano. 

Beth is keen on aiding in the outreach of wider backgrounds to get into theatre, especially with free music lessons now being a thing of the past. Beth is also keen on developing her accessible theatre practice, having designed shows with integrated audio description and captioning, she is passionate about making theatre accessible to everyone. Beth is a volunteer for the Brain Tumour Charity and Brain Research UK.

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