Sweeney Todd

London, in all its dreariness. Benjamin Barker, an upstanding barber of humble beginnings, is unjustly sentenced to a long prison term by Judge Turpin, who has his eye on Barker’s beautiful wife. Years later, Barker returns with only one thing on his mind: revenge. He learns from Mrs Lovett, the completely burnt-out but business-savvy owner of a meat-pie shop, that his wife has killed herself. And so Benjamin Barker, alias Sweeney Todd, not only embarks on an extremely efficient campaign of revenge, he also joins forces with his informant to start a flourishing joint venture in the meat-pie business …

The story of the ‘demonic barber of Fleet Street’ who became a mass murderer first appeared in 1846 as a penny dreadful entitled The String of Pearls, and has since served as the basis for numerous dramatic and cinematic adaptations. In composing this thriller musical, Sondheim drew inspiration from film soundtracks as well as Richard Wagner’s use of leitmotif. Barrie Kosky stages his vision of this classic musical as a ‘children’s theatre nightmare collage’, revelling in that lust for horror, wavering between disgust and laughter, that has always fascinated audiences.

He mercilessly digs into the question of what humans are capable of when they follow the logic of revenge to the bitter end, and what’s at stake in the process.

BY THE WAY

Cannibalism has featured in myths and fairy tales since antiquity: Chronos eats his children, Titus Andronicus bakes his dead enemies into pies, and the wicked witch intends to eat Hansel for dinner.

Act 1

Fifteen years have passed: Accompanied by the young sailor Anthony Hope, Benjamin Barker returns to London under the false name Sweeney Todd. At the harbor, they are approached by a pushy beggar woman whom they have trouble shaking off. Shortly thereafter, Sweeney and Anthony bid farewell to each other for the time being. Driven by a burning desire for revenge, Sweeney sets off in search of his former shop on Fleet Street. There he meets the baker Mrs. Lovett, whose business is on the verge of collapse— these are probably the worst pies in London! Mrs. Lovett tells Sweeney about the tragic story of Benjamin Barker and deduces his true identity from his reaction. At the same time, Anthony falls in love with Johanna, who is still under the control of the sexually abusive judge. Anthony devises a plan to free her.

At a bustling market in London, Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett meet the boy Tobias and his eccentric master Adolfo Pirelli, who wants to measure his skills against Sweeney’s in a barbering competition. Sweeney wins. But it is not long before Pirelli shows up at the door of his reopened barbershop and tries to blackmail his rival—a fatal mistake, as Sweeney kills Pirelli without further ado. Judge Turpin also pays Sweeney an unexpected visit, but when Anthony suddenly bursts in, his chance to seek retribution is lost. Completely beside himself, Sweeney turns his rage against all mankind and vows to slit the throats of all his customers. Mrs. Lovett reacts pragmatically and presents a macabre plan: why not make a business of it and turn the corpses into delicious meat pies?

Act 2

The meat pie business is booming, thanks to Sweeney’s constant supply of fresh meat. Mrs. Lovett dreams of a future together with Sweeney and Tobias, whom she has now taken in. Meanwhile, Johanna’s situation worsens dramatically: because she has refused to marry Judge Turpin, he unceremoniously locks her up in an asylum. But Anthony tracks Johanna down.
Together with Todd and Mrs. Lovett, he plans to rescue her. This presents Sweeney with a unique opportunity—with Johanna as a decoy, the judge could be persuaded to return to Sweeney’s salon. While Anthony manages to free Johanna, Tobias gradually gets to the bottom of Sweeney’s schemes. And the troublesome beggar woman also threatens to reveal Todd and Mrs. Lovett’s dark secret. Against all odds, Sweeney finally manages to hunt down the judge. However, he is too slow to recognize the fatal consequences of his lust for murder: for among the mountains of corpses lies a familiar face …