SWEENEY TODD
SODS
at
the Palace Theatre, Westcliff
11.11.15
for Sardines
“What
did they do to you?” asks an appalled Mrs Lovett. Benjamin Barker
has returned incognito from Botany Bay, and we share her concern. Les
Cannon's Sweeney stares impassively from craggy, emotionless
features. “His face was pale and his eye was odd ...”
He's
not alone. The chorus stand in weird lighting – belting out the
opening number rigidly looking straight ahead. Only their eyes turn
to Sweeney.
Moments
like these – the Bedlam scene is another – stand out in SODS'
ambitious production of the Sondheim classic, directed by Ian
Gilbert.
It's
a
show
that asks a lot of everyone – soloists, chorus, orchestra, techies.
And audience, still in their seats three hours after that opening
chorale.
The
score is demandingly operatic – it's often done by proper opera
companies, in fact – and SODS' twenty-strong chorus, a few fluffs
apart, does a remarkably professional job. Musical
Direction by Elizabeth Dunlop.
Partners
in crime Todd and Lovett are compellingly
played by Les Cannon and Ashley-Marie Stone. His granite
determination, her slatternly guile make an effective pair. His
powerful Epiphany [chorus boldly
placed to face upstage] is followed by the deliciously tasteless A
Little Priest, both performed with flair and gruesome gusto.
Joining
them in the dangerous streets of Victorian London is a fine company
of singing actors: Scott Roche as the Beadle – superb at the
harmonium – Declan Wright as the fresh-faced matelot, Maddy Lahna
in excellent voice as his Johanna, Paul Alton mortifying the flesh as
the evil Judge and Oliver Mills making a most promising SODS début
as young Tobias – his Not While I'm Around with Lovett very
touchingly put over,
and an athletic turn in the Miracle Elixir sequence.
Occasionally
we might wish for a better range, more sustained tone, but vocal
shortcomings are
usually made up for by the dramatic delivery, and the stunning
staging.
The
lofty set, with its staircases and its upper room, works well. After
the interval, Mrs Lovett's new-found commercial success brings her a
makeover, the signage is changed, and the new barber's chair is
delivered. It looks damned awkward to manipulate, and the stunt
razors don't always do as bloody a job as they might. But there are
plenty of magnificent moments – Barker's wife in flashback, the
Beggar Woman [Laura Mann] recognizing the room and remembering her
baby girl, the pile of corpses, the bodies down the pit.
The
sound design is bright, meaning that almost every word is
audible, though at the expense of some light and shade. The lighting
too, though brilliantly effective, could have been more subtle, with
more gloomy corners to match the mood of the melodrama.
Despite
one or two longueurs, this assured production is a Sweeney Todd to
relish, for Sondheim's haunting score, the tale's black humour, and
the brooding, burning presence of the Demon Barber.
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