★★★★★
In a great black pit, where the vermin of the world turn beauty to filth and greed, a humble barber returns from exile, bristling with grief. A grim question emerges from the haze: Could revenge be his inevitability?
This chilling conjecture sits at the core of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Soundworks Productions, now showing for a limited season at Melbourne’s historic Chapel Off Chapel.
Director Benjamin Samuel cunningly reimagines Sweeney Todd’s smoggy 1840s London as a gory purgatory of sorts, where roaming souls saunter across the intimate stage.
Clad in blood-soaked burgundy, they channel the story’s bleak narratives against the soot-stained backdrop of Harry Gill’s minimalist, sharp-edged set, sheltered in shadows through Sidney Younger’s lighting design.
The show’s rapid-fire, topsy-turvy score, written by beloved Broadway genius Stephen Sondheim, rattles from the word go. It kicks off with The Ballad of Sweeney Todd and remains utterly ominous throughout.
Bringing these iconic, famously challenging songs to life is no mean feat, yet this production ambitiously steps up to the plate, under Musical Director Jack Barnard’s assured leadership.
Aidan Niarros forcefully leads the charge as Fleet Street’s titular demon barber. A stark comparison to Johnny Depp’s delicate portrayal in the 2007 Tim Burton adaptation, Niarros’ take on Benjamin Barker / Sweeney Todd is arrestingly nuanced, conveying the duality of Benjamin’s sadness and Mr Todd’s seething violence ferociously, with a booming baritone to match.
His commanding presence looms large through intense, spine-chilling stares, and he makes a point of frequently locking eyes with the audience, as if to intimidate. His incensed delivery of Epiphany, Act One’s penultimate track, is truly extraordinary.
Vivacious Kate Yaxley is chaotically captivating as pie shop owner and partner-in-crime Mrs Lovett. A faithful sidekick to Sweeney Todd’s vengeful schemes, Yaxley fully commits to her scene-stealing performance, embodying Mrs Lovett at her most deranged – devoted, unpredictable, plus a startling sprinkle of unrequited longing.
Her agile, expressive voice glides over the score’s demanding complexities. She is hilarious when belting The Worst Pies in London and Poor Thing, and sickly-sweet during By the Sea.
Alongside her, Brendan Matthews tugs at heartstrings as innocent orphan Tobias, transitioning from mischievous vagrant to lovable youngster thriving under Mrs Lovett’s care. A brief tender moment shared during Not While I’m Around provides a short-lived emotional reprieve from all the unrelenting frenzy.
Ashley Garner is resolute and earnest as bright-eyed sailor Anthony, prepossessed and pining for songbird Johanna, played by stunning soprano Annabelle Rosewarne. Their effortless chemistry and melodious vocal blend, brightly on show during Garner’s solo Johanna, then their sweet duet Kiss Me, serve as a much-needed breath of fresh air.
Their tragic love story flips the stereotypical damsel-in-distress trope on its head, with Johanna heroically rescuing the pair from capture through a courageous show of strength, partway through Act Two.
Rounding out the main cast, Christian Gillett and Daniel Hillman lean into their villainous roles with bravado as the disturbing duo Judge Turpin and Beadle Bamford. Gillett is truly unnerving as the immoral judge, while Hillman seems comfortable delving further into the Beadle’s duplicitousness, serving sass and salacity as he struts across the stage.
Choreographer Skylar Delphinus’ Eastern-inspired movements and Jessamine Moffett’s costume design frame every scene in furious fluidity. As the story rapidly descends into full-blown pandemonium, slight stage and prop mishaps did little to dim the capable cast’s luminous conviction.
The frantic futility of revenge is on full display in the finale, when instead of reaping retribution, Sweeney Todd’s universe ultimately crumbles, leaving death and destruction in its wake. To quote its closing song, “to seek revenge may lead to hell, but everyone does it, though seldom as well.”
Tackling a Sondheim classic is never easy and takes sizeable courage, but Soundworks Productions executes the premise’s labyrinthine demands with invigorating precision. It’s gutsy, inventive, and steadfastly optimistic; a confident, modern revival that boldly breathes new life into a beloved classic. Sweeney Todd is an unmissable spectacle!
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is presented by Soundworks Productions and runs to 23 September at Chapel Off Chapel. 12 Little Chapel Street Prahran Vic 3181.
Tickets: https://chapel.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/164575
Website: https://www.sweeneytodd.com.au/
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/soundworks.productionsau/
Photo credits: Matthew Chen
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