Into The Woods

It was just over two years since the last visit to Dynamik Theatre for their production of Oliver! At that time who would have guessed what lay ahead and therefore the lack productions. It was a pleasure to be back with this relatively new group to the NODA family.

Written by the late Stephen Sondheim this production was dedicated to him following his death in November 2021. The original West End production opened on September 25, 1990, at the Phoenix Theatre and closed on February 23, 1991, after 197 performances. 

The show is a modern twist on tales written by the Brothers Grimm involving Cinderella, Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk intermingled with each other.

In addition, a baker and his wife and their encounter with a witch when wanting to have a child. To break the witches spell, they need to find a cow as white as milk (Jack and the beanstalk), a cape as red as blood (Red Riding Hood), hair as yellow as corn (Rapunzel) and a slipper (boots in this production) as pure as gold (Cinderella). Add in numerous other characters such as Cinderella’s wicked stepmother and stepsisters, Jack’s mother, two princes, a wolf and you have the ingredients for an entertaining evening while the cast perform a difficult and complicated score.

Entering the auditorium, we were able to see the open set. This was home built and of very high quality. It would not have disappointed a society who had needed to hire from a professional provider of scenery. Detail was good including an initially scattering of leaves on the stage. These intensified during the performance with leaves falling as the giant spoke. We were taken to different locations within the wood by the movement of tress undertaken by members of the ensemble.

There was a large cast, 18 principals, an ensemble of eight and two puppeteers therefore not possible to name each of the cast. However, no weak links were evident throughout those on stage.

Opening with ‘Once Upon a Time’ and introducing the scene and characters was Mitchell Brown as Narrator who took us through the story with confidence – until eaten by the giant that is!

Paul Stait and Deborah Williams as the baker and his wife worked well both together and when with others as their characters developed.

Superb characterisations from Annabel Pilcher as Cinderella along with Alex Stait as her stepmother and Yasmeen Shaaban as Florinda and Evie Stait as Lucinda. There were some well-choreographed moves involving the sisters.

Convincing performances from Louisa Gould as Little Red with some attitude, Steph Westwood as The Witch with her change of character, Bella Harris as Rapunzel, Billy Stait as Jack. Special mention must be made of the two princes who again worked well together. Ed Blann as Cinderella’s Prince and Ben Cuffin-Munday as Rapunzel’s Prince.

Lewis Howarth as the Steward made his mark as well as Rhiannon Daye as Grandmother and Gavin Whichello as the Mysterious Man.  

Congratulations to Evan Moss and Jake Miles for their handling of the puppet Milky White. They were noticeable almost by the fact they remained unnoticed understanding the puppet was the character.

Musically the show has numerous highlights, and all well done. Yes of course the frequently repeated tune of ‘Into the Woods’ but especially ‘Agony’ by the Princes, Your Fault’ by Jack, Little Red, Baker, Cinderella and witch and ‘Last Midnight’ by witch.   

The costumes were all sourced by the group in house and were very effective and in line with the expectation of these well know characters. Props were well used such as birds as several hand puppets. The feeding of the cow was well done and effective. The effect to demonstrate blood coming from the footwear of the stepsister having had toes/ heel cut to try and fit the golden slipper was good.

The show was not without issues technically. These did not seem to throw the cast in their performance. The sound effects meant the off-stage dialogue of the giant’s wife were largely inaudible. The production does need to have suitable lighting due to the setting and the tale it is portraying however, at times actors were in almost total darkness while shadowing was frequently evident. At other times the lighting was effective with the use of spotlights, LED colour changes, haze and or smoke.

This was a high-quality performance by Dynamik Theatre – well done to all involved. I look forward to seeing you again soon.

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