John Gibson

“The sound design for The Crucible has been informed by the simplicity, starkness and repression that are part of any extreme religious environment now, or in the times of the puritans. There are three elements to the design songs, transitions and sound effects. All made as simple as possible. The hymns that are sung could have been sung in the time of the play. They are a sound image of all that has been lost in the community since its start. Humility, a sense of common purpose, the shaping by individuals to make one song. This is counter pointed by the girls extreme vocalisations borne of an intoxicating freedom, the freedom of the imagination which in this airless place explodes like a fire.
All of the sound effects are created by the girls except for the sound of recording. Their whispers, screams and lies are the very air in which the community is engulfed and drowned. The transitions are meant to amplify and universalise the hysteria that climaxes each act and then cool down the white hot heat of Arthur Miller’s narrative.”
John has composed original music for New Zealand theatre, film, dance and television. He has composed over 60 scores for theatre including Ricordi for the International Festival of the Arts. For dance he has written scores for Shona McCullagh and Ann Dewey. His most recent television work is the series Party Animals on TV2 and he is currently creating an original opera for NBR NZ Opera. John most recently worked with Auckland Theatre Company on Sweet Charity, The Blonde The Brunette and The Vengeful Redhead and Disgrace.