Stephen Sondheim visits site-specific Sweeney Todd in Tooting
(© Bronwen Sharp)
The cast of a site-specific production of Sweeney Todd had a closing night to remember on Saturday, when the show's composer Stephen Sondheim was among the audience.
Tooting Arts Club's production in the local Harrington's Pie and Mash Shop opened to acclaim in October. The shop, which charges £1.50 for a pie and £1 for a scoop of mash, only held an audience of 30 each night.
The production was directed by Bill Buckhurst and starred Jeremy Secomb as the demon barber alongside Siobhan McCarthy as the pie-making Mrs Lovett.
A source told WhatsOnStage that Sondheim heard about the production "from friends who had seen it", so decided to pay a visit himself. And he wasn't the first famous face to be spotted at the show. Last week Hollywood actor James Franco also dropped by and posed for a photograph with the company.
Franco tweeted afterwards that it was "One of the best shows I've ever seen." Sondheim's reaction is not recorded, though his broad smile speaks volumes.
