Sweeney Todd - The Denon Barber of Fleet Street

Write as a formal theatre review. Having studied Sondheim for my thesis, I have to admit that this
work is not one of my favourite of his but knowing that the production was in the capable hands of
Mark Sidey, I knew that this would be a spectacularly directed piece of theatre and I wasn't
disappointed. The discord powerfully executed by the organist, struck up the right note of tension
for PGS Theatre Production's interpretation of Sweeney Todd at The Drum Theatre joined by a 9
piece orchestra proudly having pride of place in full view at the side of the stage, expertly led under
Paul Foster's baton. An innovative staging comprising of many levels, designed cleverly by Andy
Martin, gave us a dystopian set and demonstrated an excellent use of the enclosed performance
space. Sondheim's lack of sing along melodic score was broken by the energetic arrival of the
ensemble resplendent in sepia style clothing depicting a ghoul like corpse fashion statement
complete with effective make up and equally as forbidding, physicality and facial expression, setting
the tone for the events that were about to unfold through a well executed tableaux sequence. The
actor playing Sweeney Todd gave us a soul less, trodden, beaten interpretation of a man who has
lost everything and his delivery of the character was bespoke of his sadness and melancholy. This
performance was well juxtaposed with the actor playing Anthony, who played the role as if he had
just stepped out of a Rogers and Hammerstein musical with pleasing vocals and a great chemistry
with his Johanna. We welcomed a much needed injection of light amidst the shade from the actress
playing Mrs Lovett who executed some impressive pie-ography kneading her pastry appropriately on
Sondheim's off beats. I am not sure that her costume worked as it was too contemporary and at
times she stood out in the way that a director or choreographer would guiding the proceedings from
the stage, contrasting the costumed actors. Sidey introduced the Brechtian concept of using props to
change character and mood with the corpse ensemble donning glitzy masks to show attendance at a
social occasion, wearing judges wigs to pass verdict alongside an impactful portrayal of an abattoir
using physical theatre. The ensemble were cleverly dressed as scenery crouching hidden, silhouetted
by the darkness watching intently at the action unfolding around them. The actor playing Johanna
was a beautiful soprano dressed as an innocent Alice in Wonderland whilst connecting with birds as
a Mary Poppins muse, owning the most pure melodies that Sondheim has to offer in this show. The
actor playing the Beggar Woman was suitably briefed in her interpretation of this complex character
and portrayed the nuances of this split role to perfection with confident vocals and articulate
dialogue. Her use of the shopping trolley was yet another element of confusion in this adaptation as
we were aware of the setting being in London due to the many referrals made, not particularly from
the London accents explored by most of the actors, but not assured of the intended time period.
Perhaps this was intentional, it certainly gave it a fresh angle rather than a carelessly thought
through decision. The actor portraying Pirelli chose a stereotypical Italian accent to mirror his
imitation of this character through deceit and was able to secure an Irish accent to further develop
his role. The comedic dentistry scenes were well executed not least by the actor playing Tobias who
entertained us with a repertoire of pain and fear through well observed physicality and facial
expression. There was a mixture of scene and prop changes delivered by both stage crew and
ensemble. I must admit to preferring the moving of set by the ensemble as it allowed more fluidity
and naturalism. The actor playing Judge Turpin portrayed an unbelievably realistic character
although the natural baddie in the proceedings up against a serial killer! His vocals alongside those
of Sweeney during the Pretty Women; duet were assertive and blended well. Sweeney's
metamorphosis from a Jekyll to Hyde personality was convincing and his impressive vocals continued
to impress as he nonchalantly sung about his love for his daughter whilst slitting the throats of his
clientele. Sidey brought the forth wall down during the interval as the corpse ensemble entered the
performance area chatting to each other and enjoying their own refreshments alongside the
audience. They then enjoyed Lovett's pies served in take away containers drinking from polystyrene
cups as we are introduced to a more glamorous pie shop owner with the actor portraying a more

glamorous and self assured business woman. None of the scatty comedic norm that we are used to
seeing, she now literally, wears the trousers. My favourite scene was set in the mental asylum where
Johanna now resides and the direction here was clever and impactful. The hard working ensemble
demonstrated a clear understanding of Sidey's vision and they invested fully in to his abstract
portrayal of mayhem and madness. The final scenes appeared quite clumsy and under rehearsed but
the experience of the principal actors kept the energy of the pace going amidst some cleverly
designed working props and lighting effects and a lot of fast paced murders. The companys
youngest actor playing Tobias finished of the gruesome tale with secure vocals although there was a
lot of pressure on him to finish the narrative of such a strong production. This was a very well
directed production with some strong experienced performances and an impressive and focussed
ensemble but for me, Iacked impact at the end of the story flying down the immaculately
constructed shoot with the rest of Sweeneys victims.—fell short of delivering the emotional and dramatic impact the production so richly deserved.

This was a production worthy of its professional home for the week, the third professional venue
that this company have managed to secure and have ultimately deserved to be among their alumni.

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