Sweeney Todd

Imperial Opera presents

Sweeney Todd

the demon barber of Fleet Street

a musical thriller by Stephen Sondheim

24 - 27 October 2001 at 7:30 pm

London Oratory School Theatre

Tickets £12 / £6 concessions

For comedy, savagery and the defiance of conventional taste, Sweeney Todd stands alone in the Sondheim canon. Stephen Sondheim was first attracted to the tale because it hovered dangerously between his favourite forms of theatre–farce and melodrama–which both demand the complexity of close audience contact. Scene after scene in “Sweeney” works on two levels simultaneously, depending for its effect on the audience knowing more than the characters on stage. But it is not only the audience who know more than the characters–it is also the chorus, who comment on the action. The opening number, "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" establishes both mood and presentational style for the evening, and its numerous reprises continually remind the audience that they are watching a play and that the action is not real.

Sweeney Todd Links

Josef Weinberger - UK publishers for Sweeney Todd

Stephen Sondheim Stage - a fan site for the creator of Sweeney Todd.

Stephen Sondheim Society - a group promoting his music theatre pieces in the UK.