Review: Sweeney Todd – The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Wakefield-based theatre company Diva Productions delivered an immersive in-the-round production of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street last week. A chilling tale of murder, revenge and lust.
Pre-show publicity promised: ‘Diva’s darkest production. There will be blood.’
And when, just as the second half was due to start, the front-row audience members were handed plastic aprons it seemed that this would be no idle boast.
Diva’s take on Sweeney Todd was inventive, stripped back and bare. An absolutely marvellous concept. No fancy costumes, the only props were a few packing crates and not even a chair, never mind a barber’s chair - but it worked and it worked very well.
The stage, which revolved, was just a few feet from the front row and allowed the audience to be a part of the show. In one scene the ensemble sat on the edge ‘gorging’ on meat pies and licking their fingers and you could almost taste them - the pies that is!
As the audience made their way to their seats before the show, ‘naked’ corpses filed in and arranged themselves in a heap on the floor, thus setting the scene for an interesting night of theatre.
The ensemble, an incredibly talented group of actors, some who trained at Wakefield’s CAPA, danced and swooped and inhabited the stage until the story got going proper. They appeared again throughout the performance to add their voices and dances to those of the principal cast.
Jason Weightman as Todd, the barber unjustly accused of a crime and an escapee from a penal colony in Australia, was a tour de force.
His thirst for revenge on the judge who had wrongly imprisoned him and stole his family, and his descent into crazed madness as the body count piled up was skillfully done.
Holly Greco was also magnificent as Mrs Lovett, Todd’s pie-making partner in crime. She stole every scene she was in and has a beautiful voice with a great range.
Diva’s take on Sweeney Todd was a credit to the whole cast and production company. They should all be immensely proud of themselves.
The only slight criticism I have is the acoustics at the venue, Unity Hall, Wakefield which are not brilliant. At times the music was so loud on the night we were there it drowned out the dialogue and even when it faded into the background the actors’ voices were sometimes difficult to make out.
Diva’s next production Everybody’s Talking About Jamie can be seen at Theatre Royal Wakefield from April 30 to May 3, 2025.
Tickets: www.theatreroyalwakefield.co.uk and more information at www.divaproductions.co.uk