Poor sound at The War of the Worlds

[Original Beef]

I attended the theatrical production of Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds on Saturday at the Dominion Theatre in the West End. I'd previously seen the arena version 3 times at The Echo Arena in Liverpool over the years and I'd always been impressed with the overall sound quality despite tricky arena acoustics. Saturday however was a different story. Things didn't start too well with a generally undefined bass heavy mix and an almost completely missing second guitar part. Liam Neeson's narration played off track didn't fare much better, sounding harsh to my ears. By far the worst aspect was the principal characters, all on DPA style microphones and all sounding as though they were played through 100v line speakers. Nothing sat in the mix correctly and artificial reverbs used sounded unnatural and didn't fit. I know these things are subjective and attending as a punter it's difficult to be off duty sometimes but even my wife noticed the poor quality although she would articulate it differently to me.

 

For the record I was sat near the back of the stalls, about 6 rows in front of mix position so I was hearing pretty much the same as the foh engineer. I did notice a general conflab at half time and at the end so maybe they were aware of something untoward. Is anyone on here aware of problems with this production? I do know for example the opening night was cancelled. I would welcome any feedback on this, particularly from people with West End experience who may know why these things happen. Thanks in anticipation.

 

I've just noticed on the official Facebook page an awful lot of people complaining about the sound quality. It's not just my wife and I then.

[kurzweil_dude]

From a bit of digging around, It looks to be a Bill Kenwright proddy. Dan Samson is Sound Designer, who did the design on recent Sound of Music and Jesus Christ Superstar uk tours, has decent credit and experience on west end.

 

The amount of recent posts about sound complaints on West End production, read recent Matilda post. etc, is quite interesting.

[paulears]

You were at a preview though - so not surprising things aren't perfect - First night is Wednesday I think. First preview was the 9th. A friend is in the electric band. He's not commented yet?

[Alec]

If sound is substandard, complain during the performance to the venue staff. Too late if you put up with it and complain afterwards.

 

Last year I went to Sting & Paul Simon at the O2. Admittedly I went for the "cheap" seats as a last minute thing. But the sound was apalling. By song 5, I decided to be very un-British and complain. I was moved to different seats, with a world of difference to the sound - went from disaster to triumph. Of course, this is never guaranteed, but they need the feedback!

 

That said, the show doesn't appear to have started well - I wonder if all is sorted out by now?

[Original Beef]

If sound is substandard, complain during the performance to the venue staff. Too late if you put up with it and complain afterwards.

 

Last year I went to Sting & Paul Simon at the O2. Admittedly I went for the "cheap" seats as a last minute thing. But the sound was apalling. By song 5, I decided to be very un-British and complain. I was moved to different seats, with a world of difference to the sound - went from disaster to triumph. Of course, this is never guaranteed, but they need the feedback!

 

That said, the show doesn't appear to have started well - I wonder if all is sorted out by now?

 

As I've said I was quite near to foh position so if it isn't right there I doubt it would be good anywhere else. Also having since looked at the comments on the official Facebook page other people in different parts of the theatre didn't think too much of the sound either.

 

 

 

 

You were at a preview though - so not surprising things aren't perfect - First night is Wednesday I think. First preview was the 9th. A friend is in the electric band. He's not commented yet?

 

 

Is that how it works? I paid over £70 for my ticket and expected it to be perfect straight away or am I being naive? In any case preview or not surely the foh engineer can hear it's not sounding too good, he should make changes accordingly. I appreciate it must be a complex show to mix but I'd be very disappointed in myself if that's the best I could do. He'd had tech rehearsals plus 5 shows to mix before I saw it and I honestly don't think that's good enough.

 

 

 

[Alec]

 

As I've said I was quite near to foh position so if it isn't right there I doubt it would be good anywhere else.

 

Is that how [going to a preview] works? I paid over £70 for my ticket and expected it to be perfect straight away or am I being naive? In any case preview or not surely the foh engineer can hear it's not sounding too good, he should make changes accordingly. I appreciate it must be a complex show to mix but I'd be very disappointed in myself if that's the best I could do. He'd had tech rehearsals plus 5 shows to mix before I saw it and I honestly don't think that's good enough.

 

Regardless of all that, if your ticket had no disclaimer about it being a preview, then you didn't get the product you paid for. Unfortunately, the only way to deal with these problems is immediately during the show.

 

But yes, it does look like the earlier attenders got a raw deal. I particularly feel for those who'd shelled out for the opening night, along with transport & accommodation, to have it cancelled only the day before.

[GR1]

If you go to a preview expecting to see perfection then you are being naive.

 

The previews are part of the creative process which should be finished by opening night and are often viewed as rehearsals with the benefit of an audience. However they should be priced accordingly. In previews the FOH engineer's job is to operate the show. There should be members of the sound design team adjusting the system for sound with an audience.

 

My advice : avoid previews. I do.

[paulears]

Preview, as a status is a big vague on checking - the Opening Night Gala Performance is 17th - which nowadays needn't by the first (proper) performance.

 

 

I guess we'll get more later......

[kurzweil_dude]

... In any case preview or not surely the foh engineer can hear it's not sounding too good, he should make changes accordingly. I appreciate it must be a complex show to mix but I'd be very disappointed in myself if that's the best I could do....

 

You'll probably find that the guy (or gal) out front was actually (just) opping the show as per the sound design. During rehearsals/previews etc the Sound Designer will have been sat out making notes for scene changes, cues etc. With most musical shows its not the job Sound Operator to make changes to say the reverb style or Vocal Group EQ etc.

[ImagineerTom]

This show is getting consistently poor comments everywhere about the sound which is very odd as in recent years Kenwright's really stepped their game up on sound and invested very heavily on kit/hires of good quality and had an active program of sending creatives out to see the shows to ensure standards were being kept up.

[w/robe]

Is that how it works? I paid over £70 for my ticket and expected it to be perfect straight away or am I being naive?

During previews the show will be constantly changing for the better. The show I am working on only has 4 previews but on press night tomorrow it will be significantly different to the show seen by the first audience.

While £70 is a huge amount to pay presumably it is less than the tickets will be after press night. What did you think preview meant?

 

E2A Sorry, my question at the end of my post sounds a bit aggressive, which I didn't intend it to be, it is a genuine question.

[Original Beef]

Is that how it works? I paid over £70 for my ticket and expected it to be perfect straight away or am I being naive?

During previews the show will be constantly changing for the better. The show I am working on only has 4 previews but on press night tomorrow it will be significantly different to the show seen by the first audience.

While £70 is a huge amount to pay presumably it is less than the tickets will be after press night. What did you think preview meant?

 

E2A Sorry, my question at the end of my post sounds a bit aggressive, which I didn't intend it to be, it is a genuine question.

 

I'm struggling with this concept of "preview". I don't recall seeing anything about that when I booked the tickets last year. If there is a caveat on the website I didn't see it then and I can't find it now. Ticket prices are exactly the same for the whole run ending in April so "if" my show was a preview, and I would argue this wasn't made sufficiently clear to me at the time, then I have paid exactly the same price as someone going to a normal show and that simply isn't on. So actually I don't think I'm being naive in expecting a good quality show. I don't think it's too much to ask that whoever is running the board makes changes to the eq and reverb etc. and actually mix it whether it's a preview or not. Check out the official Facebook page, plenty of people commenting on the poor sound, some even walked out!!!

 

I also don't mean to come across aggressive but the more I think about it the angrier I get. Most people, myself included don't know exactly what a preview is, so even if it was on the website when booking, unless it's explained fully we wouldn't know what to expect. It feels like me and 2,000 other people were guinea pigs paying full price for a rehearsal in front of a live audience.

[paulears]

No - I rather like previews. The people who go get to see something truly new and raw, and the excitement and energy is always kind of 'feelable'.

 

Previews are also slightly risky. Like this one, they can be cancelled without too much bother, and with shows heavy on automation this is a proving period. When We Will Rock You first appeared, I was working quite a lot down there, and colleagues would frequently want to do a show - and it was always WWRY. The first few times the automated trucks would fail, the sound would be dreadful, and the script was being rewritten, sometimes with just 24 hours between my visits. It was interesting for me to see what was being cut, added, moved and altered.

[johnlinford]

Previews are an essential part of developing a show. However if they're being sold at full price or near full price tickets, and/or not making clear to those buying the tickets the nature of what they're buying, then that open the gates to seriously damaging the reputation of the production if not the entire industry.

 

As for the "Sound Operator" role - it's increasingly common that it's little different from an LX op pressing a "go" button. I'm not sure that this is the right way to go, given the many extra variables, but it will keep costs down. Theatre tickets are already expensive - as an aside I watch with interest the complaints about prices of football match tickets!

[mackerr]

As for the "Sound Operator" role - it's increasingly common that it's little different from an LX op pressing a "go" button. I'm not sure that this is the right way to go, given the many extra variables, but it will keep costs down. Theatre tickets are already expensive - as an aside I watch with interest the complaints about prices of football match tickets!

 

I can't speak for the West End, but I assume it is like Broadway here in the US, and here, this is just not true. Yes there is a lot of scene automation in the console, but mostly it does mutes and brings forward the specific faders the mixer needs for that scene. The actual mixing is still very intense, with line by line fader moves, and levels by the mixer's ears to the levels the designer wants. It is not the mixer's job to change the creative content from what the designer has set. It is their job to use the faders and eq to recreate what the designer has set.

 

Previews are a long set tradition in commercial theater where changes get tried out in front of a real audience. Generally, but not always, the ticket prices are significantly lower than after opening. It is a good way to see a show in development.

 

Mac