This classic Sondheim musical brings to the stage this brutal tale of Sweeney Todd who returns to London to seek revenge on Judge Turpin, the man who coveted his wife Lucy and ultimately had him exiled to Australia. On his return he inquires about his old apartment above a pie shop in Fleet Street and it is here that he will meet Mrs Lovett and reopen his barbershop with one intention – to slit the throat of Judge Turpin and have his vengeance. Of course things do not go to plan and several unfortunate victims get in the way of Todd, each meeting a ghastly end in the barbers chair; luckily Mrs Lovett is on hand with an ingenious way to dispose of the bodies, by using the meat for her pies.
This is an extremely challenging production to stage, particularly for amateurs, but even more so for a Youth Group. The themes are dark, the characters complicated and songs difficult but this group of young performers met these challenges head on and, for the most part, were successful. There was a solid ensemble at the heart of this production that had a great stage presence throughout and put their absolute all into everything they did. It must be said that many of the younger cast were impressive and often upstaged some of the principals.
There was generally a good rapport between the principals tonight, but at times there was a lack of performance energy from some. Notable performances included Dan Fenwick who took on the role of Tobias with conviction throughout, developing good characterisation and capturing both the comic and emotional side to this role. His vocals were good and he handled some difficult songs well, especially his well played duet with Mrs Lovett “Not while I’m around”. The role of Beggar Woman was played superbly by Beth Atkin who captured both a madness and vulnerability in the part which worked well and often provided some much needed comic relief. Unfortunately a few of the other roles fell a little flat for me and at times some of the principals needed to enunciate their vocals a little clearer, which, to be fair, may have partly been down to quality of the microphones. The relationship between Johanna (Isabella Eagle) and Anthony (Brad Swinburn) was played with some believability but I was left feeling like I wanted more, especially from Swinburn who lacked performance energy at times. Energy definitely came in the form of Pirelli (Brad Ryan) who was a played a little over the top, complete with ridiculous moustache and who unfortunately had difficulties sustaining his accents and some of the high notes. This is not surprising however, as many of the songs are very difficult, especially for young performers, but on the whole this cast dealt with the complex rhythms, dissonant harmonies and variable melodies very well.
Josh Roberts played Sweeney Todd with some conviction throughout, with his strengths lying in his singing in particular. His portrayal of this complex role was a little one-dimensional at times and whilst there is no doubt he showed us an angry, dark and moody Todd, there was little contrast beyond this. Many comic and witty moments from Sondheim’s lyrics were missed, often when we really needed the comic relief and he left Mrs Lovett to carry the numbers “A Little Priest” and “By The Sea” in particular. In fact it must be said that the real stellar performance came tonight from Isobel Canning, as her Mrs Lovett was simply in a class of its own. Canning embodied this role with almost faultless precision and brought with her an excellent energy and quality that drew you to her – no mean feat for someone who I imagine is little older than 18 years old. Her facial expressions and physicality of character were sustained throughout and she gave a very believable performance.
The staging of the production was well considered and the stage well utilized on the whole, although occasionally placing of the ensemble left things feeling a little awkward and cramped. The sound needed a little tweaking – especially of the band (who remain hidden backstage) with some adjustments in the mix needed to balance the sounds coming through against the vocals. Very often the piano and percussion were dominant and it would have been nice to hear some of the other instruments come through for a richer sound. There were a number of late microphone cues as well but I am sure all of this will be ironed out as the week goes on.
Perhaps most disappointing and distracting at times tonight was the lighting, which quite frankly was often so dark you could not see the actor’s faces. I have a feeling that a few cues had gone wrong too, especially in the second act where actors were plunged into darkness a little early or lights appeared in the wrong places on stage. Again I imagine this is something that will be ironed out also as the week progresses. I must add however, that I was not particularly fond of the flash of red light every time another victim met Todd’s blade, but it served its purpose none the less. These things aside I thought the costumes were good, depicting the period effectively and the set was well used throughout (especially the slide from the Barber’s chair) with fairly smooth scene changes carried out by what appeared to be a well drilled stage crew.
Overall RTSA pulled off a convincing and enjoyable production of this challenging musical, which kept its audience interested throughout. It is obvious there is some talent in this company and whilst there were some notable stand out performers tonight, it is clear that there is strong sense of ensemble and every person on that stage should be proud of their contribution. From what I understand this show had to be rearranged due to technical problems at the theatre and there was some question as to whether they would get to perform at all... thank goodness they did as it would have been an awful shame for this production to have not gone ahead.
This production continues at Rotherham Civic Theatre until Saturday 30 April 2016.
Reviewer: Christopher Sharpe
Reviewed: 26th April 2016
