Review: Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street musical at RCS, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
- Lisa in the theatre
- Jul 3, 2022
- 2 min read
Updated: Nov 20
Sweeney Todd musical ★★★★☆
Review: Royal Conservatoire of Scotland | 20 May 2022
I have never seen what some consider to be Stephen Sondheim's masterpiece - Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - on stage. I have seen the Tim Burton film with Johnny Depp and the magnificent Helena Bonham Carter in the lead roles, and I find the stage show and the film to follow largely the same plot and story arc.
Set in the dark and damp streets of Victorian London, Sweeney Todd is the story of a serial killer who works above an unsanitary pie shop, and well - I'll let you make the connection.
A bloody Victorian musical
The book by Hugh Wheeler is one of the best in musical theatre; A great story played out on stage with intertwining characters, with real jeopardy and consequences. Stephen Sondheim's music and lyrics bring grisly Victorian London to life.
The show is full of complex and fascinating characters. Their motives are clear and their vengeance is bloody. Thank you Stephen Sondheim!
On that note, there was a lot of blood in this performance. I was sitting as close as you could be to the stage and just above the action, and I genuinely don't know how they did it. The throat slitting (sorry) looked realistic to me!
A cast of future stars
As always, RCS put on a great show with a cast of future stars, a phenomenal orchestra and a slick production. The standout performance here came from Emily Kitchingham as Mrs Lovett. Perfect! What an absolute superstar she is.
Kellan Harrod (Todd) was suitably menacing and mad when committing these crimes, but he gave depth to the character too. We fully witness him being consumed by his emotions and his need for revenge. Magnificent.
Sondheim's music and musical numbers in this show are complex and abundant. More than 75% of the show is sung-through. My favourites were performed back to back by Mrs Lovett (Emily Kitchingham). 'The Worst Pies in London' and 'Poor Thing' were delivered with such wit and conviction, I just don't believe they could be done any better. Amazing.
I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Victorian London and I'll be back at RCS soon for the BA Ballet graduation performance. For the dancers' sake, I do hope there's slightly less blood in that show. ★★★★☆
[Review first published on Instagram 3 July 2022 before this website existed!]
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