Into the Woods

Synopsis

What happens in a fairytale if the story takes the wrong turn in the woods? The Brothers Grimm meet panto with a twist. A childless baker and his wife live under the spell of a witch. In order to lift the spell they must bring the witch a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn and a slipper as pure as gold. On their quest they stumble across a world of familiar fairy tale characters creating confusion and chaos!

Our Review:

19 June 2007

Into the Woods is the second musical Stephen Sondheim wrote with librettist James Lapine and, like their first collaboration, Sunday in the Park with George, it is a tale of two acts, a set-up and a pay-off.

In addressing the world of fairytale and wish fulfilment, Sondheim found another way of writing about human relationships and specifically about parents and children. It’s a dazzling score, here conducted by James Holmes, with an opening number punctuated by narrative plot-points and soliloquy, that lasts for almost 15 minutes, underpinned with a march rhythm that propels the whole musical: “Into the woods/To get the thing/That makes it worth/The journeying.”

The childless Baker and his ife want a child. They must first break the Witch’s curse by fulfilling a quest in the mythical stories of Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Jack and the Beanstalk; they must acquire the trophies of a slipper, a red cape, a tress of golden ha...

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Latest User Review

David - 21 June 2007:

I loved this production very much indeed. There were a few downsides. i.e. everytime one of the characters is killed off, they simply lept off the side of the stage but this was due, no doubt the the constraints of the Lindbury [having no traps etc. i.e. no other means of exiting] and I did feel that both Gary Waldhorn and Clive Rowe could have given more attack in their performances as other members of the cast were able to do. Having said that, I liked the carboard trees! It gave the feeling of real story book magic. I thought the singing was superb and it was a joy to be able to hear all the words so clearly. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable and thought provoking visit to the theatre....

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