REVIEW: Lovett + Todd, King's Head ✭✭

Daniel Collard and Louise Torres Ryan in Lovett + Todd. Photo: Another Soup Lovett + Todd

The King’s Head

16 July 2015

2 Stars

Sweeney Todd is one of my favourite musicals; the Tooting Arts Club production I saw earlier in the year is still one of my favourite ever stage experiences. So it was with a mixture of excitement and trepidation that I arrived at the King’s Head for Another Soup’s ‘alternative look’ at Sondheim’s classic show.

Lovett + Todd tells the story of the devious pie maker behind the cannibal plan, showing a lesser known side to the leading lady. The show starts with the death of Lovett’s mother (Mrs Mrs Lovett?) and shows the development of her evil plan after she comes into contact with a certain demon barber. So, could Lovett + Todd be for Sweeney what Wicked is to The Wizard of Oz?

In short, no. There’s a lot to like about this play – it is creative and thoughtful at times and it tries hard to forge its own identity as a production in its own right. However, it lacks the charm and subtlety of the original, which was so effective due to so much of the horror being unspoken and implied. Lovett + Todd tackles it head on and it becomes a bit repetitious as a result – the two titular characters must have discussed the merits and morals of killing people for pie filling a good dozen times. The jokes were usually blunt and knowing, less a subtle nod than a full on headbutt – “My hands are shaking so hard, I could cut a man’s neck”…“Well, it’s no meat off my bones” – you get the idea.

The score from Jo Turner is good in parts, although apart from a stirring finale number, lacks a sense of menace and dread through some of the play’s darker periods. Sweeney’s barber shop was introduced with a barbershop quartet, an inspired touch and undoubtedly the best musical number of the evening. Unfortunately, this was a rare peak as many of the lyrics during the ensemble numbers were lost– one big number was great fun to watch but a combination of poor sound levels and noisy action on stage meant that it was almost inaudible.

There were some strong performances acting-wise; Louise Torres-Ryan made for a charismatic and deranged Mrs Lovett and Daniel Collard’s Sweeney Todd was suitably conflicted and subtly portrayed. The pair had some great chemistry, although it seems a bit out of keeping for Todd to be as easily manipulated as he is in this reimagining. The rest of the cast had to deal with characters that were as flimsy as soggy pie crust but generally did a creditable job; although Eddie Mann’s highly enunciated delivery as narrator felt a bit forced and over-the-top.

It certainly felt like a cast of actors rather than all-round musical performers – there were a fair few fluffed notes (especially the higher notes in the first few songs) and most of the cast lacked the vocal heft to pull off their solo parts. Two of the songs were also introduced with the line ‘Let’s have a sing-song’, hardly the mark of a seamless musical score. However, it was fun to see some of the performers playing their own instruments, with a guitar, drums and an accordion all making an appearance.

The strongest part of the night was the staging, which showed sparks of creativity throughout. The audience was greeted with some witty conversation with the in-character cast as they filed in and several unfortunate spectators were forced onto stage to take part in the action. This never failed to be entertaining, although did give me flashbacks of a recurring nightmare I have where I’m forced onto stage in Les Mis and no-one’s given me the script…

Whilst Rhian Morris’ set was perfectly functional, it was somewhat overshadowed by what appeared to be a massive pile of human excrement directly in my line of sight at the back of the stage. I suspect it was a necessarily evil due to the evening’s earlier performance of Noonday Demons (which does apparently feature a tower of faeces) but how many other plays let you watch their emotional climax in front of a big pile of poo? Not The Mousetrap, that’s for sure…

Lovett + Todd is a valiant effort at breathing new life into the tale of Sweeney Todd. Unfortunately, it feels like a missed opportunity – some intelligent staging can’t hide the gaping flaws in the plot and script.

Lovett + Todd runs at the King's Head Theatre until 1st August 2015