Sweeney Todd review, Festival Theatre

Why review the last night of Sweeney Todd at Chichester's Festival Theatre? Because it storms into the West End in March and will be the hot musical ticket. It's a dream of a show. Todd, wronged snipper of tresses, is stitched up and shipped to the colonies so the local judge can ravish his wife and steal his daughter. Returning 15 years later bent on revenge, he's offered refuge in a room above the shop of randy Mrs Lovett, who sells the worst pies in Christendom.

Setting tongs wagging

Todd returns to barbering and soon the pair cook up a recipe for success. Instead of shaving clients, Todd garottes them, sending their bodies flying through a trapdoor into the cellar where they're minced and used to fill Mrs Lovett's pies. It is spine-tingling and hilarious. Imelda Staunton as Mrs Lovett finds comic gold in every glorious line of song and speech. Michael Ball sings like an angel. His Todd has an unnerving dignity - he is a menacing but vulnerable Ricky Gervais lookalike.

Stephen Sondheim's score is thrilling. The ensemble is terrific though Lucy May Barker is shrill as Joanna. Jonathan Kent's direction is fast-paced and witty. The set is a triumph: the final scene in which Ball sings from the red barber's chair above the stage with Staunton at his side is iconic. As the lights dipped, the audience whooped and rose as one.  

In conclusion: This is a one-off triumph with across-the-board appeal even for those who are not great fans of Sondheim. Every component part is perfectly honed. It opens at the Adelphi Theatre in March 2012.

References:
Buy tickets for Sweeney Todd at The Adelphi

Michael Billington review in The Guardian