Anthony Hope Joshua Dallas
Sweeney Todd Michael McLean
Beggar woman Dianne Pilkington
Mrs Lovett Jessica Martin
Johanna Sophie Millett
Judge Turpin Mark Inscoe
Beadle Bamford Richard Winch
Tobias Ragg Michael Kerry
Alfredo Pirelli Ian Mowat
Fogg Mark Ellery

Vikki Byard Emma Edwards,Sion Lloyd

Music director/piano
Stuart Pedler
Assistand music director/keyboards
David Laugharne

Director Richard James

"The first professional promenade staging"

Richard James' promenade staging of Sweeney Todd has several things going
for it. The beggar woman and the asylum inmates eyeball the audience, a few
of whom also get to eat pies at Mrs Lovett's establishment. (No-one quite
gets spattered with blood.) Actors leap out of the Bridewell auditorium's
many trap doors, or appear suddenly in a spotlight, in the middle of the
audience, or behind you, as in the best pantos. And the different parts of
the difficult space represent different places, making the quick flow of
scenes even smoother. Sondheim said his music was homage to Bernard Herman,
and this intensely acted production puts you in it and through it, with
deceptive comic intervals, in much the same way as a well-made horror
movie. And there's the extra discomfort of being physically close to all
that walking pie filling.

Unfortuately, the cast is pretty much non-singing. The piano and keyboards
arrangement of the music works well, but the net effect is close to Les
Miserables without the mikes. Michael McLean was good and demonic as
Sweeney Todd, and Joshua Dallas was amiably soppy as Anthony, but their
duets were excruciatingly tuneless. Sophie Millett was a cute Johanna
dramatically, but her singing was all over the place, losing the twee
tweetyness of her music.

Jessica Martin was amusingly off-key as Mrs Lovatt at the harmonium, and
wonderfully theatrical at all times, if far too young. Mark Inscoe as the
judge and Richard Winch as the beadle were a traditional comic turn, though
the judge was thouroughly sleazy as well, and both sang in competent
theatrical style. Michael Kerry wasn't perhaps quite bumptious enough as
Tobias, but emerged splendidly mad at the end. Dianne Pilkington was a
scary beggar woman.

The pies on the menu in the second act were made from theatre critics. I
suppose they might object on principle to standing, or sitting on the floor
and being shuffled around at intervals, but (the singing aside) there is
little to criticise in this excellent production.

-
H.E. Elsom
he@helsom.demon.co.uk
http://www.helsom.demon.co.uk/