Dolby Laboratories, a provider of immersive entertainment experiences, has brought its Dolby Atmos sound to live theatre for the first time through a powerful new production of William Shakespeare’s King Lear, starring the British actor-director Kenneth Branagh.
The Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company’s staging of the classic tragedy is appearing live at The Shed’s Griffin Theater in New York City from October 26 through December 15, featuring a run of 50 performances.
Presented by Dolby, the production’s sound installation at the Griffin Theater deploys Dolby Atmos, the immersive audio technology that is designed for cinema, streaming, gaming, sports, music, and live events. Until now, the surround sound system has been used a lot in the cinema, but not in live theatre.
It is designed to expand on existing surround sound systems by adding height channels, interpreted as three-dimensional objects with neither horizontal, nor vertical limitations.
For the production of King Lear, the creators of the production says it will bring to life the theatre’s physical space by allowing them to place audio effects and music all around the audience and actors, even above them.
Jed Harmsen, head of cinema and group entertainment at Dolby, said: “Kenneth Branagh’s brilliant implementations of Dolby Atmos in film, like for his Oscar-winning Belfast, demonstrate the power artists have to immerse audiences in ways never before possible.”
He added: “We celebrate and welcome the pioneering work of the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company and The Shed, whose collaboration with Dolby will break ground in bringing Dolby Atmos to the world of stage performance and use intentional sound design to plunge audiences into the play’s universe.”
Kenneth Branagh commented: “We are truly excited to partner once again with Dolby and Dolby Atmos. It’s a thrilling sonic enhancement to the immersive power of this epic tragedy.”
Kenneth Branagh plays the title role in the new production of King Lear, set in the barbarous landscape of ancient Britain. Featuring a cast of rising stars from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art co-directed by Rob Ashford, Branagh, and Lucy Skilbeck, this production is intended to release the play’s power and turmoil in a fast-paced staging.
In playing Lear, Branagh completes a trifecta of great Shakespearean tragic roles, complementing past appearances as Hamlet in his academy award-nominated film version of the play (1996) and on stage as Macbeth in a celebrated immersive production (2014).
