Tobias Barry
Tobias is a Dublin-based sound designer, composer, and music producer whose practice spans theatre, film, and pop music.He is drawn to sound’s ability to stir memory and tap into instinct, focusing his practice on transforming voices and spaces with striking textures
Projects
Operating Theatre Live
National Concert Hall, Dublin | Musictown 2025
A hybrid of live music and theatre, this multi-media retrospective on the legendary work of avant-garde duo Operating Theatre unfolded as a black ritual of sound and image. I developed a bespoke rig for multi-channel playback, real-time vocal FX, and projected video. In close collaboration with Roger Doyle and Olwen Fouéré, I designed and edited visuals, and helped shape the show’s transitions, vocal treatments, and setlist flow — contributing to its sonic architecture and aesthetic identity.
Last First Date
2025 | dir. Eleni Kalantzi & Lakshika Serasinhe
I composed the score for this poignant short about two strangers navigating a first date at the end of the world. Set against a windswept beach as an asteroid approaches, the piano-driven soundtrack resonates with the film’s blend of easy-going intimacy and impending doom. The film is currently screening at the Underground Cinema Film Festival 2025.
Unspeakable Conversations
Once Off Productions | Galway International Arts Festival 2024
Based on the writings of disability rights campaigner Harriet McBryde Johnson, Unspeakable Conversations is a challenging two-hander exploring ableism, ethics, and the disquieting gap between civil discourse and the brutality of its content. In sound designing this play, I combined original electroacoustic textures, original backing tracks, responsive live vocal FX, and carefully curated transitional music — all integrated into a fully automated system adaptable to the rhythm and flow of each performance. The piece ran to sold-out audiences at the Mick Lally Theatre as part of GIAF 2024.
Life, Itself
Sonic Makeup | Dublin Fringe Festival 2023
Bray-based pop artist ÓDÚ brought her autobiographical concept-album to the Smock Alley Theatre as a full theatrical performance. Over a six-week collaboration, I produced nearly all of the synth-laden and bass-driven pop tracks performed live — composing original backing and transition pieces with dance-inflected textures in close collaboration with ÓDÚ.
Nothing To Be Done
2023 | dir. Conor & Jamie Hooper
Nothing To Be Done is a meditative short film about memory, loss, and the city of Galway, adapted from a story by Conor Montague. I composed an experimental score using ambient textures, processed animal sounds, and fragments of fiddle, guitar, piano, and electronica — a little tribute to the music that used to spill out of Galway pubs during my time living there. The film premiered at the 2023 Galway Film Fleadh.
Juniper
2022 | dir. Lakshika Serasinhe
Created during the Galway 48-Hour Film Challenge, Juniper won Best Film, Best Actor, and Best Original Score. I composed a dark, pulsing soundtrack overnight, built around muted piano motifs and mechanical rhythms. A recurring chime — drawn from the film’s diegetic world — threads a quiet unease through its shifting emotional terrain. Juniper later screened at the 2023 Galway Film Fleadh.
The Pentagonal Dream
Abbey Theatre | Unseen Plays 2021
A revival of The Pentagonal Dream Under Snow (1986), remounted for the Abbey Theatre’s 2021 podcast series, Unseen Plays. I worked as assistant to composer Roger Doyle, helping recreate the original 1980s signal chain using a Behringer VC340 vocoder and Eventide Eclipse. Live elements — including Olwen Fouéré’s voice — were processed and mixed in real time. I experimented with routing feedback into the vocoder’s input to create sustained, legato movement between chords as Roger played. I manned the faders and triggered cues as the piece was performed and recorded at Windmill Lane, live in spirit.
