Review: INTO THE WOODS, Noël Coward Theatre
Photo credit: Johan Persson
Transferring from the wide open spaces of the Bridge Theatre to the more traditional end-on setting of a traditional proscenium arch theatre like the Noël Coward has resulted in a tighter, funnier and ultimately even more satisfying production of Into the Woods. Dating from Sondheim’s later years, the show is, in many ways, a high point of the composer’s work with James Lapine, much as Sweeney Todd was from the Hal Prince years.
The award-winning production at the Bridge is partially recast, with John Dalgleish and Laura Pitt-Pulford now playing the Baker and his wife. Both bring truth and emotion to the roles, with Pitt-Pulford’s soaring voice embodying the yearning of this lost couple, stranded in a world of fairy tales.
Also excellent is Michael S. Siegler as the Narrator, often assumed to represent Bettelheim and his work on how fairytales create understandings. Sondheim and Lapine, however, deny this link and point out that their approach is Jungian; in this work, fairytales are not helpful in overcoming adversity but are illustrations of flawed behaviour by people who want to succeed. Whatever the link, Siegler is a dominant and watchable narrator, and makes sense of this role where others have struggled.
Gloriously, Gracie McGonigal returns as a knowing, scheming and even more watchable Little Red Riding Hood. New to the role of Jack is Keith Ramsay, who is particularly good at operating and relating to Milky White, his cow. Simbi Akande and Fiona Finsbury as Rapunzel and Cinderella make the most of the stage time they get, but it is their Princes, Lucas Koch and Matthew Seadon-Young, of course, who get to sing the exquisitely written ‘Agony’. They do so very well, if not quite (yet) reaching the heights of their predecessors.
Also transferring from the Bridge is Kate Fleetwood as the Witch. Like McGonigal, she has created even more from her role and ensures that her ‘Last Midnight’ is the fitting climax of the show. It’s a clever, thoughtful and intelligent take on a character which might otherwise have been presented as just the evil witch. Fleetwood is much more, and takes her place as the central pivot around which the events in the wood take place.
Director Jordan Fein and designer Tom Scutt created something very special at the Bridge, and have made it even better with this move to the confines of a traditional West End theatre. They are greatly helped by Aideen Malone’s stunning lighting, especially of the wood, and the thrilling audio work by Adam Fisher. Scutt’s forest looks even better at the Noël Coward, and the opportunity to see his costumes at close quarters reveals the detail and thought that has gone into them.
Into the Woods is much more than a musing on what happened next after the fairytales ended. As this exhilarating production shows so beautifully, this is a work that deals with big issues, great hopes and how to deal with disappointment. See it soon.
***** Five stars
Reviewed by: Chris Abbott
