With a run of five-star reviews and glowing audience response, Paddington The Musical is already establishing itself as a standout new production in the West End. Central to its emotional impact is a sophisticated audio design by Olivier and Tony Award-winning sound designer Gareth Owen, who has once again harnessed the immersive power of d&b audiotechnik technology to remarkable effect.

Now playing at London’s Savoy Theatre, this world-premiere production from Sonia Friedman Productions, STUDIOCANAL and Eliza Lumley Productions (on behalf of Universal Music UK) is directed by Luke Sheppard, with music and lyrics by Tom Fletcher and a book by Jessica Swale. The production has attracted widespread critical acclaim, with WhatsOnStage calling it “so emotionally and tonally perfect that the entire audience is enraptured from the moment the bear steps on stage.”

Behind that seamless audience experience lies a carefully engineered sound system combining d&b Soundscape with the manufacturer’s new CCL (Compact Cardioid Line Array) loudspeaker system.

Giving Paddington His Voice

Gareth Owen is widely regarded as one of the most prolific sound designers working in musical theatre today and has been at the forefront of adopting d&b Soundscape since its earliest deployments. His previous Soundscape projects include Starlight Express in Bochum, Come From Away in the West End and MJ: The Musical on Broadway.

For Paddington The Musical, Owen uses Soundscape as a storytelling tool as much as a technical solution.

“Soundscape is a key part of creating that reality, in enabling us to give Paddington his voice,” he explains.

The immersive system allows vocal and musical elements to be precisely positioned and moved within the performance space, reinforcing character presence while maintaining a natural listening experience that supports theatrical suspension of disbelief.

Soundscape in Action

The production uses dual d&b DS100 processors in main and redundant configuration, with real-time positional data supplied by a Zactrack SMART performer tracking system. This ensures accurate localisation of moving cast members throughout the performance.

Using d&b En-Snap software, snapshots and cues were programmed to control object positions and levels, delivering consistent and repeatable results night after night. The outcome is reinforcement that remains largely transparent to the audience, allowing the emotional content of the show to take centre stage.

Precision Control with CCL

While the Soundscape workflow will be familiar to those who have followed Owen’s recent projects, Paddington The Musical also marks a notable deployment of d&b’s new CCL loudspeaker system.

The main PA comprises five discreet arrays of CCL8 across the front of the stage, with a further five arrays positioned on a forward truss to cover the gallery. Low-frequency support is provided by a flown XSL-SUB array.

“The CCL is arguably the most impressive new box I’ve heard since the (d&b)T-Series,” says Owen. “The size of the box versus the amount of power, and the fidelity – and it does everything you expect from d&b.”

He highlights the system’s constant directivity performance as a critical factor in the success of the installation.

“You can walk left to right, near and far, and there’s no tonal change. Walk behind it and there’s nothing coming out the back.”

Meeting the Challenge of a Historic Theatre

The Savoy Theatre presents a demanding acoustic environment, with highly reflective surfaces and the constraints of a listed building ruling out conventional acoustic treatment.

“That’s where a speaker system like d&b’s comes into its own,” Owen explains. “It’s so precise and directional that you can tightly focus the sound, keeping it off the walls and ceiling and putting it exactly where you want it.”

“I know for an absolute fact we wouldn’t have achieved the results we did without that constant directivity performance.”

Through the combined use of Soundscape object-based mixing and highly controlled loudspeaker technology, Paddington The Musical delivers an immersive yet natural sound environment that supports the story, the performers and the emotional connection with the audience, a clear demonstration of how advanced audio engineering continues to shape modern theatrical production.

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