I sat in the theatre, nervously awaiting the arrival of the cast on stage. Matt Cowan, who played Tobias, sat silent on stage staring out at the audience, motionless other than the occasional change of glance. The Beggar Woman, played by Elizabeth Drayton, also stood on stage staring out, walking around the back of stage right. The impressive set was lit with a dim green light and fog filled the area. I was excited and the tension rose in the pit of my stomach. Knowing my sister was to be playing Johanna also made everything 10 times more exhilarating!
The Ballad Of Sweeney Todd; the powerfully sinister opening number. Spotlights highlighted several solo singers before the chorus came together with some beautiful harmonies and haunting voices. A highly impressive beginning.
As the show progressed we were introduced to the main cast. Neil Rudd had the challenge of playing Sweeney Todd, which he'd perfected to a T. Although some of his movement could of been slightly toned down, I thoroughly enjoyed his performance. His partner in crime Mrs Nellie Lovett, played by Debbie Hadley, had the whole audience in stitches at her sarcastic yet simply clever attitude. Neil and Debbie have worked together in shows over the years so this helped their relationship within the show.
Eva Chokarian, who played Johanna, displayed grace and
innocence in her performance and performed outstandingly beside Ed Gist, who
played a very convincing Anthony through his voice and great acting. After the show, many people congratulated Eva on how she ‘made
the show’ and complimented her on her elegantly operatic voice. In duets, their
voices complimented eachothers with harmonic tones and a romantic storyline.
If you haven't watched the film version of Sweeney Todd before or the musical itself, it is about a barber who lost out on his wife and young child to the corrupt Judge Turpin at a younger age and was transported away. In later life he returns to London on what he thought would be a journey to find his once humble family, only to find out they had fallen foul to the same man. Teamed with Mrs Lovett, he plans gruesome revenge on the judge and the hell he once loved, unaware of how far this so-called 'plan' was to spiral out of control. This was presented well with some delicate directing by Baxendale.
One thing I noticed stood out well was the progressive rise of insanity in the characters Tobias and Sweeney himself. With Tobias, you really see him get attached to the idea of family life with Mrs Lovett and the business, this is clearly shown in their affectionate mother-to-son duet 'Not While I'm Around', so when he discovers the twisted truth behind their lives, it understandably drives him insane. I highly sympathised this character and rated him highly.
The same with Todd. He was so desperate for the sour revenge he needed that he turned to a life of awful crime and mass murder. The secrets and thoughts that circled his daily life drove him to a horrific end; firstly murdering his own partner in crime, then being killed himself by her fellow worker Tobias.
Overall, I was thoroughly impressed by the musical and it's majestic cast. Lee Baxendale is a very skilful director and produced a breathtakingly adventurous production. The use of lighting and props worked well on the clever set and the chorus along with the main cast complimented it well. I am very glad I saw it and if you didn't, you missed out!
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Thank you very much for reading this review! I thought it was quite a different approach to my blog and I enjoyed writing it. I am very much a fan of journalism so if this interested, let me know and I shall do more! Now that the big operation mile stone is over with, I am going to be doing a variety of different posts. They will be based around reviews like this, also various purchases such as clothing, makeup etc. You will know that I am a drama geek so when I am part of them I shall be blogging about my shows and different things like that.
Lots of love.
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