©Manuel Harlan
Dominating the giant Birmingham Rep stage for this triumphant production of Sweeney Todd is a looming statue of blind Justice, hovering like an avenging angel atop Elin Steele’s magnificent, simple, austere set, not quite within touching distance of the mortals below, as a constant reminder of the central theme of Sondheim’s remarkable musical. A barber sentenced to deportation to Botany Bay for life for a crime he hadn’t committed; a corrupt judge who engineered it so he could steal the barber’s wife and – eventually – his daughter. And the barber who returns to London to take vengeance against one man, only to conclude that they all deserve to die.
©Manuel Harlan
In one of the most hotly anticipated musical revivals of the year, Birmingham Rep Artistic Director Joe Murphy has assembled a stunning cast to deliver a powerful, intelligent and delightfully gimmick-free production of what he describes as Sondheim’s masterpiece. Personally, I think there are several contenders for that honour, but this is certainly one of them! But from the moment the curtain rises to reveal the opening chorus of starkly lit, dirty white-dressed Londoners imploring us to attend the tale of Sweeney Todd, you instantly get that adrenaline hit that tells you that you’re in for something truly special.
©Manuel Harlan
Paring back on the visuals, with just intimidating Georgian marble architecture, a seemingly subterranean pie shop, and a descending grille in which to cage Johanna at the judge’s house, or in the lunatic asylum, the whole appearance of this production provides a vivid contrast with the colour of the music, the characters and indeed their costumes, which are admirable in their creativity and authenticity. By removing extraneous embellishments, this assists the fluency of the storytelling, whilst still offering us a feast for the eyes and ears.
©Manuel Harlan
And, of course, it is a great show! A gripping narrative that makes us empathise with the wronged Benjamin Barker (a.k.a. Sweeney Todd), and his honourable, decent companion Anthony, who you just know will make a good husband for the equally wronged Johanna, who is terrified at the prospect of marriage to her vicious, lascivious guardian Judge Turpin. And it’s a fortuitous meeting between Sweeney and Mrs Lovett, who has kept his cut-throat razors for the last fifteen years, enabling him to return to his previous trade. If only Signor Pirelli hadn’t recognised his razors too, things might have turned out very differently.
©Manuel Harlan
Musically, Sondheim is on sensational form with this score, blending the romantic sweetness of Ah Miss and Johanna, with the black comedy of A Little Priest and By the Sea, the eerie ominousness of Not While I’m Around, the character-defining Epiphany, and my personal favourite, the song that combines almost every aspect of the show, Pretty Women.
©Manuel Harlan
The production is jam-packed with stand-out performances that truly make this a must-see show. Heading the cast is the outstanding Ramin Karimloo, who doth bestride the stage like a Colossus, as someone once said. We’ve only seen Mr Karimloo on stage once before, as Jean Valjean on Broadway, where his emotional delivery made Mrs Chrisparkle and me cry during the show, cry walking back to the hotel after the show, and then cry again when we got to our hotel room, the swine. Here he is a powerhouse of repressed fury, nailing every number with his innate integrity, bizarrely getting the audience on his side and making us want him to continue his murderous quest. This isn’t in any way an unhinged Mr Todd; he is perfectly sane, meticulously planning and calculating his way to his final revenge. And when he realises at the end what – and who – he has had to sacrifice to achieve his goal, he has no hesitation in doing the honourable thing, and offering himself up to his own, deserved, fate. I knew he’d be remarkable in the role; he sure is.
©Manuel Harlan
Australian cabaret artist Meow Meow portrays Mrs Lovett as a very larger-than-life, outrageous comic creation, going for every eccentric tic, both vocal and physical, she can recreate to get across the Hogarthian caricature on which the character is based. At times this feels at such odds with the rest of the production, where most of the characters have their ability to express themselves repressed, and even those who don’t – like the Beadle or Pirelli – follow a recognisable foppish standard. This Mrs Lovett is an unpredictable whirlwind by comparison. Ms Meow’s singing is of extraordinary quality with trills, embellishments, accents and funny voices integrated into every part of her vocal delivery. It’s a remarkable feat and she does it with amazing conviction and accuracy. For me, there were occasions when it felt just too much – however, gauging from the audience responses to her performance, I was in the minority.
©Manuel Harlan
David Bedella, however, performs the role of the judge in exactly the manner that I had hoped he would. If I were a musical theatre performer (lucky for the rest of the world that I’m not) this would be my dream role; possibly the most villainous baddie in all of musical theatre, perfect for Mr Bedella’s incredibly deep, exquisitely enunciating voice, mining all the cruelty and perversion out of every line. He doesn’t hold back from revealing quite how squalid the judge is in his disturbing performance of Mea Culpa, but it’s in that riveting duet with Sweeney, Pretty Women, an 18th century equivalent to laddish banter, where you revel that his smug sordidness finally gets its come-uppance.
©Manuel Harlan
His sidekick, the decadent and ruthless Beadle, is given an entertainingly pompous portrayal by Julius D’Silva, all pomade and pontification, channelling his self-seeking interests as much as he wants. Silas Wyatt-Barke is excellent as Pirelli, the street mountebank, amusingly wasting time on fripperies in his shaving duel with Todd, and then blithely issuing his blackmailing threats in his own accent. Florence Andrews delivers a surprisingly emotional performance as the Beggar Woman, with hints of the real person she once was, before cruelty and anguish got the better of her mental health.
©Manuel Harlan
Jack Gibson is superb as Tobias; he has a terrific singing voice and an endearing stage presence, perfect in the assistant roles, first to Pirelli then to Mrs Lovett, and coming into his own with the harrowingly moving Not While I’m Around. There’s fine ensemble support from Emily Ivana Hawkins and Hadrian Delacey; in fact, one of the most impressive aspects to this production is how a relatively small cast create a sense of a busy, highly populated London town.
©Manuel Harlan
And what of Justice, looming over us till the bitter end, will she win the day? The innocents live on, having fought hard to defeat the evil. Shem Omari James as Anthony is a beacon of decency in a filthy world, with a fantastic singing voice
©Manuel Harlan
which buoys up the only sense of optimism for the future in the whole show – no wonder the character’s surname is Hope. And Jo Stephenson – also gifted with an extraordinary voice – beautifully conveys Johanna’s contempt and loathing for the despicable Judge Turpin and her instant attraction to Anthony, despite the latter’s occasional lapses in strong will. There’s a delightfully underplayed moment when, having been given a firearm by
©Manuel Harlan
Todd to help Johanna escape Bedlam, Anthony can’t bring himself to use it on the Master of the Asylum. You can almost hear the muttered oh for f***’s sake from Johanna as she grabs the gun and shoots him. It’s a lovely moment that says so much about how their future life together will be.
A riveting production, musically sensational, visually stunning and full of great performances. It’s scheduled to run at the Birmingham Rep until August 15th but surely – SURELY – that can’t be the end for this Sweeney Todd. See it while you can!
Five Alive, Let Theatre Thrive!
