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The demon barber of Fleet Street takes to the stage at Wilton’s, serving up everything from spooky to silly in a tasty, technically impressive performance.Summary
Rating
Excellent
Wilton’s Music Hall is a fabulous venue, and the perfect place to find productions with a strong creepiness factor. Opera della Luna’s performance of Sweeney Todd is just that, flavoured with beautiful Georgian-style costuming, a live orchestra, ghosts, gore and pie-invoked gluttony. This staging is not based on the familiar Sondheim musical, but nonetheless features wonderfully theatrical performances and plenty of charming witticisms.
Songs are here performed in operatic style, demonstrating the skill set of a talented cast. An absolute stand-out moment is an ode to pies given by a poor man tricked into working for Mrs Lovett: how understandable it is to love pies enough to break into song with a mouth full of pastry! Characterisation is especially strong during musical numbers, and this serves well to convey complex dynamics such as distrust and rivalry. With cockney accents and physical comedy nailed down, Sweeney Todd takes a gruesome subject matter and channels it into dark humour.
The technical components of this production are a recipe for success, notably use of music, costume, and staging. With a ten-piece orchestra, this can literally be called a melodrama. This use of music creates an ambiance that is at times lively, at times eerie, and cleverly adapts to create sound effects such as percussive knocking sounds or strings representing creaking hinges. Costume is beautifully crafted and enables effective multi-roling. Staging perfectly accentuates the narrative, particularly in scenes featuring visions of ghosts, where translucent curtains are used to create an eerie effect. The consideration that has gone into this play’s technical execution is worthy of high praise.
Representations of violence are understated, with quick flicks of a knife followed by bodies smuggled through trap doors or straight into the oven. This produces a deeply sinister quality, and complements the use of dramatic irony, for instance in moments where Todd is hiding a kill from his apprentice. The build-up towards Todd’s downfall and the resolution of characters’ relationships is cleverly crafted; humorous without becoming farcical. Moments such as the aforementioned pie song are indeed silly, and capture the charm and spirit of this tale.
Audience interaction was enthusiastic throughout, with booing and hissing on each of Todd’s appearances. It did appear that a number of audience members had left during the interval, which seems most likely due to confusion about the script, although promotional materials do clearly state this is not the Sondheim musical. Regardless, the keen level of engagement shown through plot-relevant engagement sufficiently evidences the success of this performance.
This ensemble pays wonderful tribute to the Victorian origins of Sweeney Todd as a Penny Dreadful serial. Combining musical talent with technical excellence, this show is everything from spooky to silly. I only wonder what the bar are putting in their sausage rolls!
Directed by: Jeff Clarke
Conducted by: Toby Purser
Produced by: Opera della Luna
Sweeney Todd – the Victorian Melodrama plays at Wilton’s Music Hall until 29 April. Further information and bookings can be found here.
