There are probably more interpretations of Into the Woods than one could count, as the beloved Stephen Sondheim musical is so open to being staged in so many ways it is always a huge joy and challenge for any director to tackle. Dominic Lewis has done a wonderful job in this new staging, and the cast are so good that you wouldn’t even realise it wasn’t a professional production.
It’s a musical theatre staple, the roots of which are known worldwide, several different children’s fairytales are intertwined in various different ways. What the combined forces of Sondheim and James Lapine have done is create a modern classic through both honouring the source material and taking the characters in bold, unconventional directions that are somehow both surprising and wholly expected.
The humour with which this production is executed is some of the best I’ve seen, everyone gets a chance to display their comic acting, but particular highlights are Rebecca Drever as Little Red, Cathy Geddie as the Baker’s Wife, and Felicity Halfpenny as the Witch, all of whom were also excellent vocally in mature, complete performances.
Unfortunately the entire performance was marred by both sound issues and poor mixing, with a particular prevalence of excessive volume meaning both the overall mix, and more notably, the blend between all the vocal mics in ensemble numbers, were noticeably lacking in clarity. It is hugely disappointing when actors’ microphones are cranked up so high that the effect it has on one’s ears takes away from what’s happening on stage. It is a huge shame, because the on stage performances overall were terrific, and the orchestra performed excellently.
The short and long of it is that this had the potential to be one of the shows of the fringe, as the direction, design and performances were all terrific, however without due care and attention to how it’s all mixed, we are left with an incomplete picture as to how good this production truly could have been.
Into the Woods plays at Paradise in Augustines until 10th August - for more information and tickets, you can follow the link here.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3*)
Gifted tickets in return for an honest review
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