We’d never actually seen a production of Into the Woods – Stephen Sondheim’s musical hasn’t played in London for many years – so we were excited to pay a visit to the Bridge Theatre to check out Jordan Fein’s new staging of the classic show, which will be celebrating its 40th anniversary this coming year.
If you’re not familiar with the musical, fear not, because much of the material is well-known; Into the Woods intertwines a whole series of fairytale storylines. Favourites including Cinderella, Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk are all present and correct, as are a whole host of immediately recognisable characters (the witch, charming princes, and so on). The songs, of course, are fantastic, although they’re perhaps not Sondheim’s best-known pieces, and on occasion they’re rather complicated.
It’s quite a technically demanding musical and thankfully the talented cast really deliver here; it’s an ensemble piece, with most characters afforded ample opportunity to showcase their vocal prowess. We particularly enjoyed Kate Fleetwood as the witch – she pretty much steals every scene she’s in, with both her spellbinding singing and ability to be delightfully, darkly comedic – but there are lots of great performances here. We warmed to Jo Foster’s endearing Jack, and had a good laugh with Oliver Savile and Rhys Whitfield, our two wonderfully camp princes, during ‘Agony’.
The staging is fairly straightforward, yet it’s effective: set designer Tom Scutt has created an enchanting forest on stage, aided by Aideen Malone’s wonderful lighting design. There’s a real ethereal quality to the setting and the reveal of the forest is certainly a ‘wow’ moment.
We enjoyed our evening with Into the Woods: it’s a simple yet stylish production, the music is excellent and there are lots of strong performances here. Having never seen it before, we didn’t realise quite how daft Into the Woods is – it really is rather silly in places. A little caveat, however: the show clocks in at the best part of three hours and the music is not the most accessible, so if you’re after some easy entertainment this might not be the musical for you. But it’s an extremely rewarding show, and we’re glad to have an opportunity to see it again on the London stage.
GAY TIMES gives Into the Woods – 4/5
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