Into the Woods

‘Into the Woods’, a Stephen Sondheim Musical first performed on Broadway in 1987, came to the Central Theatre, Chatham this week, directed by the Medway-acclaimed Director Francene Harris.

Francene’s direction was, as always, superlative. Francene has changed my perception of ‘Into the Woods’. I’m not a Sondheim lover, especially of Into the woods to be honest, but Francene and GDS have changed my mind…!!!! The plot of 'Into the Woods' is complicated as it takes in fairy tales and works them into a difficult score, lots of words and intricate lyrics. When a society takes on Sondhiem they have a massive challenge on their hands but GDS took ‘Into the Woods’ and smashed it..I know that sounds corny, but you did.

The cast of this ’Into the Woods' was well chosen by Francene and all gave excellent performances, you should all be proud of yourselves to get this production to such a high standard. Scott Highway and Tonia Plowman, the baker and baker's wife, had good depth to their characterisation. Scott’s powerful voice and acting ability and Tonya’s singing and acting made them a perfect pair. Cinderella (Carly Caller) gave us beauty and class in her portrayal of the iconic Cinderella. Jenie Boyns, Laura Stoneman and Megan Chapman gave us comedy as the Stepmother and daughters. Young Lewyss Banfield as Jack has great potential as an actor with good diction and a nice voice. His mother, played by the silver-voiced Rachel Anne Crane-Herbert was very believable.

A young Red Ridinghood in Claire Scholes and a manly butch wolf in Aidan Harwood depicted their characters well. Larry Davis as Mysterious Man held his own on stage. Now to the two camp princes: Repunzel, and Cinderella’s princes, Adam Waters and Jake Pearse. They bounced off each other and their rendition of Agony was hilarious - well done guys. Debbie Brennan as the Witch, not an easy part to portray, but Debbie gave it her maturity, knowledge, stagecraft and a wonderfully powerful voice. Her quick transformation was expertly carried out. Laura Ng as Rapunzel has a nice stage presence, good diction and voice.

Ensemble players were Gerald Flanagan, Jessica Griffiths, Shannon Leigh Harris, Phillip Williams, Marianna Allen, Anna-Marie Dadd, Rhea Baker, Rachel Heard and Harry Milner. All brought together expertly by Chas Alder as Narrator

Musical Director for Into the Woods was Peter Bailey - this man never fails and with this difficult score, his orchestra was his usual standard: exceptional. The set was designed and executed to a professional standard by Gerald Flanagan, Larry Davis, Kazimierz Sterecki and John Endicot, who worked perfectly, eliminating black outs: perfect guys. Ladies of the wardrobe (Jo Kimber and Julie Smith) you did it again ladies..  

I have no gripes, a great Into the Woods - thank you for changing my feelings about Into the Woods…gosh I’ve said those words "Into the Woods" nearly as many times as you did on stage. Thank you GDS.

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