Theatre / Reviews
Review: Into The Woods, Theatre Royal Bath – ‘A huge production on every level’
Stephen Sondheim famously had a strained relationship with his mother.
In Into the Woods he and co-writer James Lapine explore the murky disconnect between the relationships we thought we wanted, and those we actually have.
Parental fear and disappointment permeates the show, which is a heart-breaking observation of desire and frailty – using familiar fairy story characters living out their cautionary tales to devastating effect.
is needed now More than ever
The action, in this production, takes place in the imagination of a little girl.
Staged inside a huge puppet theatre, complete with stage level clamshell lime-light effects, the show starts as the child plays with her own puppets, in a miniature replica of the transformed Theatre Royal.
She calls the mysterious storyteller over and asks him, and the audience, if we are ready.
Only on her say so does the story begin and end.
The action, in this production, takes place in the imagination of a little girl – photo: Marc Brenner
It is no coincidence that Terry Gilliam also directed Time Bandits, in which a young boy’s bedroom posters fuel his dreams. But a child’s fantasy is very different from the reality of adulthood – and Into the Woods specifically deals with knowledge gained by experience.
This conceptual disconnect is most obvious when the giant who is terrorising the town turns out to be a blue-eyed baby doll, a fixture in the toybox of the show’s conceit but needlessly incongruous when demanding revenge for the death of her husband.
There are some great performances – most notably from Nicola Hughes as The Witch and newcomer Lauren Conroy as a feisty Red Riding Hood. The Baker and his Wife, who wish for a child and will do anything to achieve their aim, are relatably played by Rhashan Stone and Alex Young.
And the Princes’ duets, sung by Henry Jenkinson and Nathanael Campbell strike the perfect balance between pomposity and vulnerability.
Anthony McDonald’s costume designs are lavish and Jon Bausor’s set is panto-georgian fusion. The show is a visual feast, for sure.
Into The Woods is a visual feast -photo: Marc Brenner
The live orchestra, under the direction of Stephen Higgins is a triumph, with only Audrey Brisson’s Cinderella occasionally unable to rise above them.
This is a huge production on every level.
I do have to take some issue with it, though. Sondheim’s signature style was to run the songs and story continuously, with few – if any – breaks for applause.
He didn’t choose to write showstoppers and I wish this production had honoured that. I wish there had been less comedy. I wish it had dared to be darker. But, as the show itself tells us very clearly, we must be careful what we wish for.
Into The Woods is on at Theatre Royal Bath until September 10. More information and tickets are available via: www.theatreroyal.org.uk/event/into-the-woods/
Main photo: Marc Brenner
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