Mud Rats

New Adelphi Theatre
December 2023

My inspiration for the Sound Design is the patriotic war songs that were used as propaganda, during the preshow state I contrasted this with the sound of the rain which was represestative of the harsh reality the soldiers faced. I wanted these songs to carry themes of the glorification of warand how these songs of heroism, optimism, comradery and nationalism would have influenced the young men into recruitment.

When sourcing sound effects I strongly adhered to the guidence of the shows' director. I sourced multiple of each effect so there would be a variety of sonic texture to the world. For intance, the scene where we're first introduced to the character of Sergent Wells has a soundscape of rainfall and distant artillery fire. There is another scene much later in the show in which the remaining soldiers contemplate their awful circumstances, which has much more intense artillery than Well's introduction. This detail is included to convey the much bleaker and more desperate shift in atmosphere.

A lot of the sound I sourced remained as ambient scene setting, remaining at low levels under the dialogue and action, with the exeption of key scenes where the silence is used as a juxtaposition to build tension within the scene.