…it’s the sounds one remembers most (Guardian)…

I find Paul Arditti’s remarkable soundscape still echoes in my brain and unlocks memories of an event that signifies a major shift in the development of modern theatre (Guardian)…but the truly startling ingredient was a soundtrack by Paul Arditti, which went well beyond the creation of ‘atmosphere’ (Observer)…Paul Arditti, if there were awards for soundscape work, would scoop the lot for his superb underscoring of this piece (Independent)...the noise of running water and of a child’s unnerving laughter echoes through Paul Arditti’s excellent soundscape (Independent)...Jean Kalman’s lighting and Paul Arditti’s subtle soundtrack create a nimbus of transfiguration around the actress (What’sOnStage)...Paul Arditti’s excellent sound design generates the constant, ominous rumble of aircraft (Sunday Times)…much credit must go to Max Stafford-Clark’s creative staging, assisted by Paul Arditti’s expressive sound design (Time Out New York)…The Quay brothers’ design, Paul Anderson’s lighting and Paul Arditti’s sound conjure up a complete world: we hear constantly lapping water...bells, hooters and klaxons sound while panels and doors disgorge tangled chains of chairs in surreal profusion (Guardian)…McBurney’s production has terrific momentum and Paul Arditti’s orchestrated sound effects of ringing bells and slamming doors are thrilling (TNT magazine)…sound designer Paul Arditti makes much of the lapping water that begins the evening (Variety)…bouquets are also in order for Martin Crimp’s lively new translation, Paul Arditti’s sound (Sunday Telegraph)…a production almost perfectly judged in every department: Paul Arditti’s sound design – thunderously slamming doors, a cacophony of bells (Independent on Sunday)…the sound (Paul Arditti) and musical direction (Laurie Holloway) are first class (Observer)…Paul Arditti’s sound score makes the transition from the echoing cannon shots of Arras to the booming bells of a Paris convent an event in itself (Guardian)…brilliant production work by a team that includes, in addition to Mr Pask, Brian MacDevitt (lighting), Paul Arditti (sound) and Paddy Cunneen (music)…(New York Times…the sound score, from rainfall and the thunder of passing trucks to music as subliminal as Chekhov’s breaking string, is minutely judged and locates the action simultaneously in the actual and mythological world (Times)…the set, the lighting and (especially) the sound are elaborately designed, half realistic, half dream-like (Sunday Telegraph)…the best sound designer in the world (Stephen Daldry)…Scott Pask's foreboding metal-wall set, Brian MacDevitt's piercing lights, and Paul Arditti's spine-tingling sound-design make it difficult to escape from the world of The Pillowman once you've succumbed to it (which doesn't take long) (Talkin’ Broadway)...The superb sound designer Paul Arditti, who worked on Billy Elliot, has, with Carolyn Downing, created a soundscape that twines through the action (Observer)…And the technical work is superb, from Ian MacNeil's scenic design to Rick Fisher's lighting and Paul Arditti's sound, which summon a sense of eternal menace hovering on the periphery. (New York Times)

photo by John Owens