“There is a hole in the world like a great black pit/And the vermin of the world inhabit it.” Of course, Sweeney Todd here refers to Victorian London, where class and power distinctions lord it over the lives of ordinary men, himself included, but one does not need to make great leaps of imagination to extend the metaphor further, or closer, as the case may be.

Stephen Sondheim’s classic “musical thriller” Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street opened at the Manoel Theatre on July 17. The musical first opened on Broadway in 1979 and features a score written by Sondheim with a book by Hugh Wheeler, based on the 1973 play of the same name by Christopher Bond.

Starting its life as a 19th-century penny drama, the story of Sweeney Todd has become a popular tale of vengeance and meat pies of questionable provenance.

Directed by Lucienne Camilleri with musical direction by Ryan Paul Abela, the rendition at the Manoel was faithful to the spirit of the original, with costumes and set design in keeping with the musical’s Victorian setting.

The set was composed of two levels and a central revolving piece, giving dimension to the limited space afforded by the Manoel’s stage, especially with musicians occupying the pit. I can only fault the set for not disguising itself more thoroughly – some of the more evident scaffolding features were needlessly noticeable.

A generous chorus meandered the two levels deftly, only seeming crowded momentarily at the opening before appearing more proportionate as the musical came into its stride. As their voices reverberated across the theatre, it was clear the lyrical element of the musical would be well executed.

This impression was further solidified by Roger Tirazona, who plays the titular role. Despite the stoniness of his character’s countenance, Tirazona adds both depth and delicateness to Todd as he lends him his voice.

Todd is a figure with little to lose as he roams the streets of his old London home after years of exile in Australia. He searches for his wife and daughter who were snatched from him by the malevolent Judge Turpin (Stephen Oliver) – a squalid character emitting sleaze with every utterance. Todd soon learns his wife is dead and that his daughter was adopted by the judge.

Oliver’s Turpin makes our skin crawl throughout the performance, from the flashback scene recounting how Todd was robbed of his wife to him flagellating himself for the illicit feelings he now bears towards his adopted daughter, whom he intends to marry. Oliver is successful in dressing his character in the foulest garb, riling the audiences against his depravity, although the perpetual snarls with which he imbues his speech do at times become tiresome.

By being so faithful to the original, the Manoel’s rendition takes no creative risks

After the enterprising landlady Mrs Lovett (Katerina Fenech) gives Todd his old barber tools, he sets out to win back his esteem from the pseudo-Italian barber Adolfo Pirelli (Karl Bartolo) – an obnoxious character complete with  stereotypical Italian moustache and appalling accent.

Judge Turpin’s beadle (Noel Zarb) catches sight of Todd and promises to visit his barber shop by the week’s end. Todd’s quest for vengeance against the beadle and Turpin seems well within his grasp, especially when Turpin himself pays Todd a visit on the beadle’s recommendation.

There is palpable anticipation in the theatre as Turpin sits in Todd’s barber chair, prolonging the long-awaited gesture of killing his nemesis. He is interrupted by Anthony Hope (Ryan Grech) whom Turpin recognises as his adopted daughter Johanna’s (Jasmine Farrugia) suitor.

As Turpin slips through his fingers, Todd decides that all of London’s inhabitants ought to face his wrath, which Mrs Lovett encourages. A new barber chair sends corpses chuting to the cellar furnace of her pie shop.

A generous chorus provides compelling vocals to the production.A generous chorus provides compelling vocals to the production.

As Hope saves Johanna from Fogg’s (Rambert Attard) lunatic asylum, Todd’s murderous jaunt starts getting out of hand. Tobias Ragg (Gianluca Cilia) finds hair and a fingernail in the meaty sludge he is tasked to grind in the pie shop basement, and Mrs Lovett can feel the jig is soon up.

Todd kills the beadle and the judge and is met with a mad beggar woman (Stefania Grech Vella) who confronts him. He slits her throat, telling Mrs Lovett that she is just a crazed beggar, but recognises her as his wife when he looks closely at her face. There is little time to absorb this climactic moment before then next ensues, slightly cutting short the shock of this revelation.

The Manoel’s Sweeney Todd is all that one would expect of such a production – a competent cast and crew breathing life into a classic story with vocals and an orchestra making the musical a successful one. But while trodding so faithfully in the shoes of this 43-year-old musical, the Manoel’s rendition plays it much too safe. By being so faithful to the original, this rendition takes no creative risks.

Amid its many layers, Sweeney Todd is a tale of exploitation and corruption, not to mention the gluttony of the easily quelled masses. I can only imagine what such a story would say had it been placed closer to home…

 

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