A Derby Theatre and Mercury Theatre Colchester Production:
SWEENEY TODD – THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET. A MUSICAL THRILLER.
Presented by arrangement with Music Theatre International (Europe) Ltd.
Tuesday 4 October 2016 – Saturday 22 October 2016
Main Theatre
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by Hugh Wheeler
“I believe Stephen Sondheim is a living genius,” he says. “To be in this show is a dream. It’s not a role that I ever thought I would have the honour of playing. It was never on my wish list’.
“Being the first black actor to play Sweeney Todd in the UK is an honour but with that comes a lot of fear and a lot of responsibility – but I’m so, so looking forward to the challenge”.
Sweeney Todd is set in Victorian England and charts the return to London of a barber after 15 years of exile. He plots revenge on the corrupt judge who banished him and conspires with the pie maker Mrs Lovett to exact his revenge.
Sweeney Todd made its Broadway debut in 1979 with the West End following a year later. It won both the Tony and Olivier Awards for Best Musical and it has been packing houses worldwide ever since. In 2007, Tim Burton released a film version starring Johnny Depp.
It’s now being revived as a Derby Theatre and Mercury Theatre Colchester production.
The title role has been played by a long and distinguished list of performers, which Hugh admits are “big shoes to walk in”.
“The fact that director Daniel Buckroyd has cast me in this role means that he can see something in me that I didn’t think I had. The creative team knows what it takes and I’m going to do my best to give them what they want.”
The future is bright for Hugh and having Sweeney Todd on his CV is not going to harm his prospects but, for now, he’s just concentrating on giving this production his all.
“I want to make the audiences in Derby and Colchester happy and I want to fulfill what Stephen Sondheim has put down in ink. I’m aware that, historically, the people of Derby love musical theatre and I want this show to go down as a winner in their eyes.
“I also want to make a mark with this character – that’s my challenge. If I do that, who knows what the future may hold.”
From and interview by Nigel Powlson
Sweeney Todd – The Demon Barber of Fleet Street opens at Derby Theatre on Tuesday 4 October 2016.
Reviews
From the review by Steve Orme
“Much has been made of the fact that Maynard is the first black actor to play Sweeney Todd in the UK, he admitted he felt that put extra responsibility on him.
He should not have worried. The youngest person to have played the role of John in Miss Saigon, he is a baritone with a sumptuous, opulent voice which perfectly suits the role of Sweeney Todd, the man who could never forgive being sent to Australia for 15 years on trumped-up charges. His acting is exemplary as Todd retains the audience’s sympathy for his plight as his mental collapse leads to increasingly gory acts”.
“A bloody Good Sweeney Todd at Derby Theatre” by Phil Lowe. 12.10.16
“Daniel Buckroyd directs with razor sharp precision and the full cast mix of professionals and local (Derby) community players blend seamlessly in this ‘hot as one of Mrs Lovatt’s pies’ show.
Right from the opening company chorus of The Ballad of Sweeney Todd this disturbing yet darkly comical – sung through show – grips. Drip by bloody drip we clamour to hear the brooding emotional tale of Benjamin Barker; former Fleet Street barber turned unwitting convict, as he returns to London under a new name – Sweeney Todd. Revenge is in the air and it is palpable.
Hugh Maynard is utterly perfect as Sweeney Todd. His vital muscular presence and his strong voice constantly commands the stage in the character. He is especially good in such dark brooding numbers as The Barber and His Wife and My Friends. His relationship with Mrs Lovett (Sophie Louise Dann) is electric and Dann herself is richly joyous as the opportunistic grubby pie maker. Dann’s rendition ofThe Worst Pies In London is the best this reviewer has ever enjoyed and there is equal joy in Maynard and Dann’s duets A Little Priest and By The Sea”.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Derby Theatre
Reviewer: Dave Smith; The Reviews Hub
“Sweeney Todd is an absolute masterpiece from the pen of musicals legend Stephen Sondheim and Derby Theatre’s current production of the show is a triumph from first bar to last.
The cast all play their part from beginning to end, mostly coping with Sondheim’s typically challenging wordplay and complex arrangements, but the central pairing of Hugh Maynard, as Sweeney, and Sophie-Louise Dann, as Mrs Lovett, stand out in every way. Maynard simmers with anger and the threat of violence, while Dann goes full-on Joan Sims for her Mrs Lovett”.
Photography by Robert Day