Theatreguide.London
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The Theatreguide.London Review
Into The Woods
Open Air Theatre Summer 2010
Despite my
dislike of fairy tales and outside performances, and a limited
knowledge of Stephen Sondheim, I found myself captivated by
director Timothy Sheader’s Into The Woods, a production that
provides late summer escapism with an undertone of adult bite.
In this musical
adaptation (first performed in the mid-80’s, and formerly a
Broadway show) four well-known tales by the Grimm Brothers –
Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Baker and his Wife,
Rapunzel – metamorphose into a coherent whole that examines the
deep-held dreams and desires of protagonists whose particular
quests can only be realized by venturing into the dangerous,
mysterious and unforgiving woods.
A boy narrator glues the
stories together and his presence is a reminder that these tales
come to us as children but often speak more cogently to the adults
who read them to us. The stage is a labyrinth of ladders and
foliage to make material the twining and twisting barks of a wood
that can be read metaphorically to represent the lost child that
resides in each us.
The quests encompass the
theme of being loved and wanted, in whatever form that takes, be
it the Baker’s wife (a poignant portrayal by Jenna Russell)
longing for a child; or the love of Jack (Ben Stott) for his cow,
Milky-white – the striking puppetry of Rachael Canning here
creating a bovine that, worked by two actors, seems all the more
real for its disjoined body.
Even the staunchest
musical theatre lovers might agree that, occasionally, lyrics
concede to banality in order to fit the score: here, it is a rare
treat to hear Sondheim’s intelligent, witty, and simply clever
lyrics delivered with style, pace and panache by a uniformly
talented cast.
Beverly Rudd is perfect
as bun-eating Little Red Ridinghood and Michael Xavier is a sexily
persuasive Wolf; doubling as Cinderella’s Prince, he joins
Rapunzel’s Prince (Simon Thomas) in stealing the show’s first half
with ‘Agony’ (happily reprised in part two), a number that
joyfully makes the case for the trials of men in love. Judy
Dench’s voice animates a nicely scary giant, helped by clever
puppetry once again.
From the incrementally
building prologue (Into the Woods) through to the final ‘Children
Will Listen’ the show involves us for an extremely swift 2 hours
45 minutes. The second half is darker in content, and the
production is not recommended for very young children, a fact
perhaps encouraged by an 8 PM start.
With Sondheim’s 80th
birthday celebrations in full swing this year, this is a fitting
accolade to a man whose prolific catalogue includes writing the
lyrics to ‘West Side Story’ in 1957. Don’t fight it: this could be
your entry into fairy tales, parks, and Sondheim.
Anita Butler
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