Sweeney Todd - Review

Twickenham Theatre, London

****

Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Book by Hugh Wheeler

Adaptation by Christopher Bond

Directed by Derek Anderson

David Bedella and Sarah Ingram

Twickenham is the newest of fringe theatres to open in the capital. Perched above a pub, little more than a stone’s throw from the train station it’s a pleasantly accessible suburban venue and with Derek Anderson’s entertaining production of Sondheim’s bloodiest work, Twickenham has laid down its marker for quality.

There’s a steampunk feel to the piece. Amidst dripping pipes and a smoke filled gloom creating the infernal grime of Mrs Lovett’s bakehouse, David Bedella and Sarah Ingram breathe life into the doomed couple. Bedella’s Todd is callow, drawn and hungry for vengeance. Controlled understatement defines his crafted performance though vocally, on press night at least, it felt that he could be giving more. In two of Sweeney’s biggest numbers, My Friends and Epiphany, Bedella is magnificent, though he and the cast are not helped by clumsy sound design throwing voices in and out of amplification depending upon proximity to static mikes.

The treat of the show however is Ingram whose buxomly decolletaged Mrs Lovett is at once a fusion of Carry On’s Hattie Jaques, Oliver’s Nancy and Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth. Ingram nuances the menace of her character perfectly, The Worst Pies In London being a comic treat whilst By The Sea blends her romantic desperation with Sondheim’s remarkable understanding of English banter. Ingram could slow down just a tad in A Little Priest, some of the gags are garbled.

Elsewhere there is excellence from Genevieve Kingsford making her debut in the desperately challenging soprano role of Johanna. She sings exquisitely in Kiss Me and Green Finch And Linnet Bird. Mikaela Newton’s Tobias is touchningly convincing whilst Mark McKerracher is appropriately old enough to make his misogynistic lust for his young ward as disgusting as it should be, though his moment of self-flagellation is distractingly feeble.

The staging is simple with Rachel Stone’s design generally working well. Sweeney’s chair is an ingeniously low-budget affair but it serves its purpose, shuttling the slaughtered carcasses off the stage. The fake blood flows in torrents, turning most of the show’s murders into moments of comedy-horror, though too often the blood squirting nozzle is visible on the “victim”. If the mechanics behind an effect are visible, it is no longer “special” and an audience’s suspended disbelief can lurch dangerously south.

Benjamin Holder’s four piece band tackle Sondheim with aplomb. The two keyboards in particular maintain an almost orchestral backing to the show and are a constant reminder of the outstanding performance values to be found in London’s Off West End. I won’t be the only critic to say this, but make the trip to Twickenham’s Sweeney Todd. It’s a bloody good musical.


Runs until 4th October 2014

Taboo - Review

Brixton Club House, London

This review was first published in The Public Reviews

*****

Book: Mark Davies Markham

Music & lyrics : Boy George

Director: Christopher Renshaw



Matthew Rowland as Boy George
Picture by Roy Tan

Taboo is an updated and re-imaged take on a show that first arrived in London a decade ago.  Staged upon an intriguing catwalk that seductively threads its way through the audience exploiting every facet of this unusual venue’s intimacy, one senses that director Renshaw, who created the original concept of the show with Boy George in the last millennium, is delivering authentic excellence. 

Paul Baker reprises the role of Phillip Sallon that he created in 2002. Act one opens with his Ode to Attention Seekers and his command of the audience is startling. His make up is vivid with his perfect poise and movement setting the tone for the production’s descent into the sexually ambivalent world of London’s club scene.

The show’s story follows rookie photographer Billy who we meet living with his parents. As the programme notes comment, it’s Billy’s lens that captures the world of the 1980s that surrounds him. One of the BBC’s Josephs, Alistair Brammer plays Billy with just the right combination of strength, naivete and curiosity. His mum and dad are the West End stalwarts Sarah Ingram and Michael Matus. Ingram’s performance as a mother who initially struggles to accept her son’s sexuality is touchingly crafted, whilst Matus portrays the misogynist and intolerant father with a chilling degree of slobbish ordinariness. Matus plays two other small but critical roles in the show with breathtakingly slick costume and make-up changes.

Sallon introduces Billy to the hedonistic world of Boy George and his assistant Kim where love soon blossoms between the photographer and the girl. Whilst Kim is attracted to Billy, so too is Boy George. Billy becomes an emotional pinball ricocheting between his desire for Kim and finding the sexual attentions of the singer irresistible. As he deflowers Kim, so in turn is he deflowered by Boy George. Playing Kim, Niamh Perry a BBC Nancy and now a young and accomplished West End star, is a convincingly vulnerable young adult. She sings Pretty Lies, in which she confronts Billy’s betrayal of her, with a vocal performance that is as powerful as it is pained.

Matthew Rowland quite simply IS Boy George. Making his professional debut, Rowland evokes the singer’s immediately recognisable look, style and affectation. He charts George’s rise to fame and drug fuelled collapse in a tour de force performance. For those old enough to remember the 80s, to look at Rowland is to step back in time. Leigh Bowery is a slightly lesser known character from that era who ran the Taboo Club. Obese, flamboyant and literally larger than life, Sam Buttery ( a finalist on BBC’s The Voice ) is yet another professional debutante who dominates his scenes with confidence and clarity. His remarkable make up changes, designed by Christine Bateman, expertly applied by backstage assistants from Greasepaint school.  Owain Williams as Steve Strange and Adam Bailey as Marilyn complete the set of instantly recognisable faces of the age, each captured in performances that combine both character and caricature. Anne Vosser’s casting has been exceptional. 

Together with Bronia Buchanan, Danielle Tarento has again produced a theatrical masterpiece, supported by talented creatives. Mike Nicholls’ costumes evoke both Punk and New Romanticism.  Howard Hudson lights the confined spaces of the club ingeniously and Graham Simpson’s sound design ensures that the cast are clearly heard against the sound of Matt Smith’s three piece band, whilst choreographer Frank Thompson’s dance exploits every aspect of the performance space.

Blending fable with fact and new talent with established troupers, this flawless production is quite possibly one of the best shows to open in London this year.

Runs until December 23