Sweeney Todd

~~We all know the feeling of rehearsing week in week out to get the show to perfection, well imagine doing all this rehearsing only to find out the theatre had been closed by the local authority due to some plaster work falling from the ceiling above the stage. This is just what happened in the case of RTSA’s show Sweeney Todd, they had rehearsed, completed the tech run and then disaster. The team had to dismantle the whole set, not an easy task with such a big set and start the mammoth task of letting everyone know.
With everything up in the air, the cast, MD and Director did not know what was going to happen, was the show cancelled altogether or postponed? Fortunately after some very frantic phone calls and emails they were able to find a slot in the theatre calendar when another production pulled out. This was six weeks after the original date so more rehearsals had to take place to ensure the cast were kept on their toes and able to put on a good show.
They need have no fear about putting on a good show; it was not just good it was brilliant with every member on stage doing their utmost to ensure it was kept to the high standard we have come to expect from this society.
Sweeney Todd is not an uplifting show which leaves the audience on a high and giving a feeling of elation, far from it, this is a very macabre piece which yes, does leave the audience entertained but certainly not with a feeling of elation.
From the outset of this production we had a feeling it was going to be good and everyone played their part to the full whether they be one of the chorus, a small part or one of the principals there was no letting up to give this show the credit it deserved.
In the title role of Sweeney Todd was Josh Roberts who was every bit the evil “executioner” none more so than when he was yielding his cut throat razor. He was perfect in this part, by far not an easy one to portray but with his excellent acting and singing Josh did everything he could to make this part his own.
As with all shows there is a love interest for the leading man and this show is no different, Sweeney Todd’s love interest is Mrs Lovett who runs a pie shop, Isabel Canning once again showed off her talents in this part. I doubt there is a more versatile actor than Isabel, she was brilliant. This is far from being a glamorous role and Isabel was quite at ease to take this on board again showing she did not need beautiful clothes and make up to help her, I especially enjoyed her singing of By The Sea when she would at times squawk just like the seagulls she was singing about, perfect!
Alongside Josh we also have Beth Atkin as the beggar woman; Beth was perfect in this role. How she managed to keep that same posture throughout the whole show I will never know but each and every time she came on stage I doubt anyone would not have been in awe of her presence.
Sweeney finds his long lost daughter, Johanna and strives to claim her back from the evil Judge Turpin where she has been sent as his ward. In the part of Johanna we had Isabella Eagle who not only looked the part but she was also able to carry it off with ease, her singing of Green Finch and Linnet Bird was as beautiful as the birds themselves.  Johanna’s love interest in this piece is Anthony Hope who woos her throughout the entire show, here we had Brad Swinburn who was not only able to carry this off to perfection  with his fine singing and acting but I also suspect he would have had a number of the young ladies in the audience swooning too.  Brad was joined by Sweeney, Johanna and The Beggar Woman for Johanna’s Quartet, a most difficult piece but one which they carried off with ease.
I enjoyed watching the great Double Act which was Brad Ryan as Adolfo Pirelli and Dan Fenwick as his side kick Tobias Ragg, these two worked extremely well both together and separately none more so than when Tobias entered the stage and sang Pirelli’s Miracle Elixir, he was brilliant, having the audience in stitches from the start. Pirelli also had them in a similar state when he sang in The Contest.
There were also some truly great performances from Adam Wigglesworth as The Beadle and Rob Cannon as Judge Turpin, both these two worked really well together to bring the very best out of the parts.
Many congratulations to all involved in this very difficult show which they were able to bring to life this week.

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