Sweeney Todd

Synopsis

The demon barber of Fleet Street who used to kill customers and dispose of them in meat pies! Set in Victorian London. Sweeney is bent on revenge for the death of his wife and has started to murder indiscriminately - and suddenly meat for the pie shop next door is no longer in short supply!

Our Review:

7 October 2011

Stephen Sondheim's bloody musical is a tremendous climax to this year's Chichester Festival. Jonathan Kent's powerful production brings out the essential melodrama of the piece without losing some of the almost-Brechtian moralistic elements.

He does make one decision that looks rather odd. The Victorian grand guignol has been updated to a more modern-looking London. It looks strange because the references to transportation and the beadle sit rather uneasily with Mrs Lovett’s neon-lit diner.

I can only assume that Kent wanted to show that the desire for revenge, corrupt judges and human brutality will always be with us but it’s a move that doesn’t really enhance the piece. Despite the incongruities, however, Anthony Ward's design, with the orchestra placed behind an array of broken windows behind a steel walkway, adds to the air of menace.

The main interest was always going to be the Chichester debuts of Michael Ball and [Imelda Staun...

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Latest User Review

Sophie R-C - 3 November 2011:

Overall, a very well thought out and impressive performance. The setting on stage was magnificent - especially Sweeney's barber shop which was on a raised platform that rotated. Believable acting on the whole, but wasn't entirely convinced by Michael Ball's performance - the character didn't seem to suit him - he didn't appear to be particularly 'dark' and his acting came across rather wooden. Disappointed as Ball is an outstanding actor that definitely deserves all the credit he has been given in the past, but Imelda Staunton excelled and definitely stole the show as Mrs. Lovett. Some parts of the production were a little inappropriate to my taste, especially in a certain scene with Judge Turpin, but in all, well worth seeing. And most definItely worth a standing ovation....

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