Review: Sweeney Todd at Dundee Rep
Artistic director James Brining's latest show is a big, bold, beautiful production in which every element combines to maximum effect.
David Birrell as Sweeney Todd (photo by Douglas McBride/Dundee Rep).
- By Joy Watters, arts reporter
- Published in the Courier : 24.05.10
- Published online : 24.05.10 @ 02.29pm
Forget Edinburgh, Glasgow or London's west end — here on the banks of the Tay is a production of a musical that is up there among the best.
This production of Stephen Sondheim's musical thriller is the latest in a series of ambitious projects undertaken by the Rep in which they have excelled.
Sweeney Todd is an enormous undertaking for the Rep, with a cast of 16 and a 10-strong band, but it pays off as at times the power of the piece comes at the audience like a theatrical force-field.
Sondheim was inspired by Christopher Bond's play which took the tale of the demon barber from melodrama to something much richer.
Sweeney was not just a man with bloodlust but a once-decent victim of injustice.
Director Brining has decided against a Victorian setting, arguing that the kind of social injustice that drives Sweeney Todd is still present today.
The action fills the stage from the gods to the cellars, with Colin Richmond's brilliant design showing a dockside backdrop and containers opening up to create a range of spaces.
The augmented ensemble is led by David Birrell in the title role.
He gives a flawless performance with Todd's madness in his eyes and the sadness of a wronged man in his heart.
Clearly an experienced musical theatre practitioner, the challenges of Sondheim's lyrics and music are met with ease.
Ensemble regular Ann Louise Ross is Mrs Lovett, his devilish accomplice who engagingly bustles through the cannibalistic pie trade.
One of the delights of a such a challenging piece is seeing how the ensemble come up to meet them.
Angela Hardie, one of the departing graduates, is revealed as having a beautiful singing voice as Johanna, Sweeney's lost daughter.
It is invidious to single out individuals since all the performers are at the top of their game supported by the band under MD Hilary Brooks, who take on the vagaries of Sondheim's music with brio.
Probably best known is The Ballad Of Sweeney Todd, which interweaves the action.
Part of the fascination of Sondheim's work is to see how the same song can be used in different ways to underline the change of mood as the action gets blacker and the music gets edgier.
Sweeney Todd runs until June 12 — get your tickets quickly.
Add a comment