Northern Ireland’s only full-time self-producing theatre and marking its 75th anniversary in 2026, the Lyric Theatre Belfast has become the island’s first to use an L-Acoustics L-ISA Immersive Audio with the world premiere of Denouement, a new drama, written by John Morton and produced in-house.
New writing remains central to the theatre’s mission, with Denouement emerging from the theatre’s own New Playwrights Programme. For the team, pairing a world-premiere play with cutting-edge sound design felt like a natural evolution: ‘Our focus has always been to champion new writing and elevate new voices,’ says Marketing Manager, Adam Steele. ‘Audiences increasingly expect a premium theatrical experience, and immersive technology now plays a key role in storytelling. Denouement felt like the perfect moment to explore that creative potential.’
Inviting audiences into a tense end-of-the-world narrative, the story exploits immersive audio’s ability to heighten tension build a shared’ psychological space.
The project was realised in collaboration with Belfast-based production company Forfey, who designed, supplied and installed the L-ISA configuration, with L-Acoustics Application Engineer Ollie Crump and Lyric Senior Production Technician Ian Vennard. It marks a significant step in the venue’s long-term audio strategy and its ambition to pioneer new standards in theatre production.
‘Striving for creative and technical excellence is central to everything we do,’ says, Forfey MD, Matt Minford. ‘From our first conversations with Ian and the Lyric team, it was clear we shared that vision. Our role was to design and deliver a system that truly supports the theatre’s creative ambition and demonstrates how spatial audio can heighten emotional storytelling and place audiences inside the narrative alongside the performers.’
While exploring audio upgrade options, the theatre’s relationship with L-Acoustics accelerated last summer, when the venue hosted L-ISA training sessions for technical professionals from across the region. The event coincided with the early planning phase of Denouement, sparking the idea of using immersive audio technology for the production.
‘We had been considering our next steps in sound reinforcement, whether that might be a refreshed left-right system or a more advanced LCR approach,’ Vennard says. ‘But when we saw the potential of L-ISA and how well it complements our auditorium, it became clear this technology would help place us at the forefront of theatre sound.’
The venue frequently hires L-Acoustics systems for larger productions and musicals, making L-ISA technology a future-aligned choice that builds on an already established sonic foundation. With a capacity of 389 and a single rake of seating, the main house offers ideal physical conditions for spatial audio, free from overhangs or balcony obstructions. ‘For Denouement, we collaborated closely with L-Acoustics and the Lyric to tune the design precisely for the room, using Soundvision to model coverage and make the most of the theatre’s ideal architecture.’
The final design centres on a focused Scene configuration using L-Acoustics A Series loudspeakers. Three central arrays of one A15 Focus flanked by two A15 Wide form the core image, with two arrays of one A10 Focus two A10 Wide positioned at the outer edges to ensure even, precise coverage across the full seating rake.
To extend the spatial soundscape beyond the primary frontal image, one X12 loudspeaker per side serve as Scene extensions, widening the perceived sound field and strengthening lateral imaging. Surround and overhead immersion is delivered by ten X8 loudspeakers installed discreetly around and above the auditorium to provide enveloping spatial textures and height information, enabling subtle atmospheric movement as well as pinpoint localisation when required by the production.
The system runs on a Milan-AVB network, using a P1 processor for set-up and routing, supported by LS10 switches. LA4X and LA12X amplified controllers provide power and processing, giving the creative team a flexible, object-based mixing environment that supports both narrative clarity and dramatic sound design.
‘Sound can often go unnoticed when it’s working well,’ says Steele. ‘But audiences have been talking about how immersed they feel, and how clear and enveloping the sound is. That’s particularly meaningful given many of our patrons are older theatregoers – it shows that clarity and natural imaging truly make a difference.’
With cinematic and at-home streaming experiences shaping public expectations, immersive theatre sound has become increasingly important for maintaining audience engagement. ‘We’re seeing audiences arrive expecting the best,’ Steele adds. ‘This system allows us to meet and exceed that expectation.’
‘This project has been a fantastic example of collaboration,’ adds Minford. ‘It demonstrates our shared commitment to pushing standards of creative and technical excellence in Northern Ireland.’