Elin Steele’s imposing staging is a thing of stark, harsh monochrome majesty. A tapestry of Lucifer’s fall gives way to the ever-looming presence of a colossal Lady Justice, sitting centre in the Rep’s already sizeable stage. Here is a London akin to a grand, unyielding courtroom, with justice, revenge and judgement all bloodily intertwined. Morality is, naturally, various permeations of grey. And much of Rory Beaton’s haunting work underlights proceedings – not least of all the almost Brechtian chorus who intermittently chant Sondheim’s tale to the audience.
This is sweeping, operatic musical theatre of a scale and quality scarcely seen even in such established and excellent spaces as the Rep. The likes of which would not feel out of place in the likes of the London Coliseum.
“This is sweeping, operatic musical theatre of a scale and quality scarcely seen even in such established and excellent spaces as the Rep.”
For those unfamiliar with the broad strokes of Sweeney Todd’s tale, it is a ‘musical thriller’ following the thirst for revenge from a wrongly convicted barber (Ramin Karimloo), who returns to London in the hopes of reuniting with his family and righting those who wronged him. Unsurprisingly, things have changed during his fifteen years in the penal colonies, and the down-on-his-luck Todd ends up lodging, and later co-conspiring, with the eccentric Mrs Lovett (Meow Meow), proprietor of a shop selling ‘The Worst Pies in London’. Together, they settle upon a nefarious fusion of their purposes, as Todd begins providing customers with a barber’s visit so sharp they end up spiking the sales of Lovett’s baked horrors.