Review: Sweeney Todd

‘Sweeney Todd’ has enjoyed something of a revival over the past few years. Stephen Sondheim’s greatest work was met with indifference when first performed, but since Tim Burton’s film version starring (who else?) Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, the grisly musical has seen a surge in performances, including a sell out West End run last year.

The Norfolk and Norwich Amateur Operatic Society produced a version of the piece which, while perhaps unoriginal, was gutsy, slick and ultimately chilling. Sweeney Todd is a musical which relies heavily on the talents of its leading duo – the demon barber of Fleet Street himself, and his accomplice, the deliciously evil Mrs Lovett.

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Stephanie Moore’s Mrs Lovett was inspired, presenting her as a gritty, ambitious woman driven mad by her love for Todd. Her rendition of ‘By The Sea’ – along with her chemistry-filled moments John Mangan’s Beadle – were the comedic highlights of the piece.

Unfortunately we were less than convinced by Andy Gledhill’s Sweeney. While he sang competently and with pathos, his character simply seemed a paler version of that presented by Johnny Depp in the film. He was, however, admirably chilling in the role and cannot be blamed fully for the director’s choice to play Sweeney ‘safe.’

Sweeney Todd needs the talents of its ensemble cast to create a tense atmosphere – and they worked together beautifully, using harmonies and movement to make sure that their big number ‘The Ballad of Sweeney Todd’ was one of the most memorable of the show.

Added to that, the director used a bold technique involving a gauze and shadow work to depict one of the musical’s more harrowing moments – and this added a much needed flair of originality to the piece.

The set was phenomenal, with both Mrs Lovett’s pie shop and Sweeney’s barber room realized in great detail. The orchestra was equally as brilliant with the music both stirring and haunting.

In fact, possibly the greatest praise we could give to this production was that, had we not been aware otherwise, we would have assumed that professionals and not amateurs had staged it.

A musical like Sweeney Todd, ultimately, doesn’t need to be strikingly different in each production. While it was nothing we hadn’t seen before, we were left satisfied with our slice of macabre Victorian squalor. One thing we can say: we won’t be touching any hot meat pies any time soon!