Sound Designers Gareth Fry and Pete Malkin Win Special Tony Awards for The Encounter

The Tony Awards administration committee has announced that Gareth Fry and Pete Malkin will be presented a Special Tony Award for their outstanding sound design in the recent Broadway play The Encounter.

“Gareth and Pete take the audience on a journey in The Encounter that is infused by the intimacy of sound, and the intricacies of that involvement were executed beautifully. They have created another dimension of the live theatrical experience, and we are thrilled to honor their work,” said Heather Hitchens, president of the American Theatre Wing and Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League.

The Encounter ran at Broadway's John Golden Theatre from September 20, 2016 to January 8, 2017. This special Tony Award recognizing the contributions of the show's sound designers is especially meaningful as the Tonys recently shared that the competitive sound design categories will be reintroduced, but not until 2018.

Fry is an award-winning sound designer best known for creating work for leading UK theater directors such as John Tiffany, Complicite’s Simon McBurney, Sacha Wares and Katie Mitchell. Gareth is a three-time Olivier Award winner for Best Sound Design, most recently for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, also winning for Black Watch and Waves. Gareth has worked with Complicite since 1999, and spent 5 years working with McBurney on the creation of The Encounter. He is the chairman of the Association of Sound Designers. His work includes over 20 productions at the Royal National Theatre, over a dozen at the Royal Court and countless more at venues such as the Donmar Warehouse, Old Vic, Young Vic and in the West End. He was also part of Danny Boyle’s creative team for the 2012 Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games. Mr. Fry runs workshops for directors exploring how they can use sound design in their work.

Malkin has worked extensively with Complicité and McBurney; most recently at the Royal Court on the stage production of Robert Evans' The Kid Stays in the Picture’. He also worked as Associate Sound Designer for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which is now playing in London’s West End. His work on Phyllida Lloyd’s The Tempest was seen earlier this year at St Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn. In 2016, Pete won the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Design alongside Gareth Fry for their work on Complicité’s The Encounter His wide range of UK and international experience extends to work with The Royal Court, The Royal Shakespeare Company, Lyric Hammersmith, The Royal Exchange Theatre, and with companies such as Berlin’s Schaubühne Theatre, Headlong and 59 Productions.

Nominations for the competitive Tony Awards will be announced by Jane Krakowski and Christopher Jackson on May 2 at 8:30am EST. The Tony Awards ceremony, hosted by Tony- and Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey, will air live from Radio City Music Hall on the CBS Television Network on Sunday, June 11 at 8:00pm EST. 

The Encounter is currently playing its final U.S. engagement at San Francisco's Curran theater. The mounting runs through May 7.