Rupert Christiansen

The unstoppable rise of stage amplification

Something of the viscerally direct communication at the heart of the theatrical experience is being sacrificed to the ingenuity of sound designers

Ballerina Svetlana Beriosova being miked up in 1961 for her spoken role in Ashton’s Persephone. The primitive body mic subsequently exploded and set fire to her costume. Credit: ANL / Shutterstock
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