Into the Woods
Little Theatre Company
14-17 October 2015
The Palace Theatre, Southend on Sea
Little Theatre Company
14-17 October 2015
The Palace Theatre, Southend on Sea
Into the Woods, is the Stephen Sondheim musical that was made into a block buster film last year by Disney and is being produced by the Little Theatre Company this week at The Palace Theatre. What didn’t occur to me, knowing this show to be a massive Disney success, is that it would attract an audience of many many many school children. Imagine my horror when taking my seat, to be literally surrounded by what seemed like 2,000 10 year olds? Alright, perhaps not quite as much as that but from the excitedly loud, high pitched chatter, it certainly seemed that way.
However, I needn’t have fretted as from the moment the curtain rose each and every one of the little darlings were startlingly quiet; no wriggling, no sweet wrappers' rustling, no giggling or whispering. How so? I shall tell you. It is because this show has the ability to draw every member of the audience, quite literally, ‘into the woods’.
LTC’s fabulous team of set builders and designers have done a grand job of painstakingly putting this set together from scratch and the initial scene which introduces us to the main characters - Cinderella, Jack and his mother and the Baker and his Wife has three impressive but simple sets equalled by wonderful woodland settings, with Rapunzel's castle and granny's wooden cottage standing out.
The story is narrated by James Corden lookalike, Julian Cottee, who introduces us to each of the fairytale characters whose lives become intertwined with each other within the tale.
The Baker and his Wife wish for a child but suffer under a curse laid upon the Baker's family by the Witch who found the Baker's son robbing her garden when his mother was pregnant. The Baker's father also stole some beans which caused the Witch's mother to punish her with the curse of ugliness. The Witch offers to lift the curse, but only if the Baker and his Wife obtain four critical items for her: a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn, and a slipper as pure as gold. And so off they go into the woods to find them. Jamie Redgate and Victoria Tewes play the slightly incompetent but loveable Baker and his clever Wife and they really gave it their all.
Tobias Smith and Carla Cater as the cow loving lad who ends up selling it for some beans and his strict but loving mother work really well together; as do Cinderella’s mother and the ugly sisters who share some great comedic moments thanks to Lianne Larthe, Jess Byford and Kate Andrews.
I loved Rebecca Perry-Gamble as the naive yet feisty Little Red Riding Hood who is forever hungry and Simon Bristoe’s Wolf, with those tight leather trousers, is one sexy canine. Move over Johnny Depp!
The Witch is played by newcomer to LTC, Sarah Pettican and in her first principal role she totally proved that she has what it takes to be up there on The Palace stage. ‘Children Will Listen’ is one of my favourites from the show and she handled it like a pro accompanied by the beautiful Hannah Allwright as the wailing hard done by Rapunzel.
Louisa Strachan is a wonderfully endearing Cinderella and I really enjoyed her songs, in particular the one she shares with the Baker, Witch, Little Red Ridinghood and Jack, ‘Your Fault’ which was excellently done. Likewise with ‘No One is Alone’.
A special mention to Sallie Lightfoot who plays Cinderella’s mother, Red Ridinghood’s granny and can also be heard but not seen as the scary Giantess.
The two arrogant princes played superbly by Simon Bristoe and an immensely funny Chris Lidgard, almost stole the show for me, hilariously leaping on to the stage like a right couple of dandies and had the audience giggling away with their rendition of ‘Agony’, another one of my favourites from the show and even more so in the ‘Reprise’.
As those who are familiar with the production will know, this is definitely a show of two halves and despite the first Act ending with a seemingly happy ending, the second Act threatens to reveal a much darker side. Ultimately the second half of the production is a lesson on how to be careful for what you wish for and shows us what actually happens after “Happily Every After”. Here's your reality check kids!
To all intents and purposes, this may appear to be a fairy story but Act 2 brings with it some very grown up issues like betrayal and even adultery, as Prince Charming explains candidly, “I was raised to be charming, not sincere!” I expect there were a few teachers slowly sinking into their seats wondering how on earth to explain to Class 14b what was going on in the scene where Prince Charming and the Baker’s wife disappear behind a tree with all but their feet on display to suggest what they’re up to!
Dave Lobley has directed his cast well and imaginatively with scenes running smoothly in and out of one another.
Musical Director, Rachael Plunkett, has realised the best of each of the cast's voices. This Sondheim score is certainly not one of the easiest and yet LTC seem to breeze through it. Victoria Tewes and Sarah Pettican are especially impressive and the cast are fortunate to have an orchestra that also sound amazing conducted by Clare Penfold.
Lighting is also used to good effect, subtly setting the mood of each scene. There are also some excellent sound effects bringing out the believability factor; we may not see the giantess but we certainly feel as though she may step out from the wings at any given moment.
Into the Woods may be a rather lengthy show (3 hours including the interval) and Sondheim's music may not be everyone's cup of tea but a huge testament to its appeal and to the talent of the LTC cast is the fact that every single one of those children in the audience were kept as entranced throughout as I was.
Congratulations and thanks to LTC for yet another enjoyable show.
Get your tickets now at www.southendtheatres.org.uk
However, I needn’t have fretted as from the moment the curtain rose each and every one of the little darlings were startlingly quiet; no wriggling, no sweet wrappers' rustling, no giggling or whispering. How so? I shall tell you. It is because this show has the ability to draw every member of the audience, quite literally, ‘into the woods’.
LTC’s fabulous team of set builders and designers have done a grand job of painstakingly putting this set together from scratch and the initial scene which introduces us to the main characters - Cinderella, Jack and his mother and the Baker and his Wife has three impressive but simple sets equalled by wonderful woodland settings, with Rapunzel's castle and granny's wooden cottage standing out.
The story is narrated by James Corden lookalike, Julian Cottee, who introduces us to each of the fairytale characters whose lives become intertwined with each other within the tale.
The Baker and his Wife wish for a child but suffer under a curse laid upon the Baker's family by the Witch who found the Baker's son robbing her garden when his mother was pregnant. The Baker's father also stole some beans which caused the Witch's mother to punish her with the curse of ugliness. The Witch offers to lift the curse, but only if the Baker and his Wife obtain four critical items for her: a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn, and a slipper as pure as gold. And so off they go into the woods to find them. Jamie Redgate and Victoria Tewes play the slightly incompetent but loveable Baker and his clever Wife and they really gave it their all.
Tobias Smith and Carla Cater as the cow loving lad who ends up selling it for some beans and his strict but loving mother work really well together; as do Cinderella’s mother and the ugly sisters who share some great comedic moments thanks to Lianne Larthe, Jess Byford and Kate Andrews.
I loved Rebecca Perry-Gamble as the naive yet feisty Little Red Riding Hood who is forever hungry and Simon Bristoe’s Wolf, with those tight leather trousers, is one sexy canine. Move over Johnny Depp!
The Witch is played by newcomer to LTC, Sarah Pettican and in her first principal role she totally proved that she has what it takes to be up there on The Palace stage. ‘Children Will Listen’ is one of my favourites from the show and she handled it like a pro accompanied by the beautiful Hannah Allwright as the wailing hard done by Rapunzel.
Louisa Strachan is a wonderfully endearing Cinderella and I really enjoyed her songs, in particular the one she shares with the Baker, Witch, Little Red Ridinghood and Jack, ‘Your Fault’ which was excellently done. Likewise with ‘No One is Alone’.
A special mention to Sallie Lightfoot who plays Cinderella’s mother, Red Ridinghood’s granny and can also be heard but not seen as the scary Giantess.
The two arrogant princes played superbly by Simon Bristoe and an immensely funny Chris Lidgard, almost stole the show for me, hilariously leaping on to the stage like a right couple of dandies and had the audience giggling away with their rendition of ‘Agony’, another one of my favourites from the show and even more so in the ‘Reprise’.
As those who are familiar with the production will know, this is definitely a show of two halves and despite the first Act ending with a seemingly happy ending, the second Act threatens to reveal a much darker side. Ultimately the second half of the production is a lesson on how to be careful for what you wish for and shows us what actually happens after “Happily Every After”. Here's your reality check kids!
To all intents and purposes, this may appear to be a fairy story but Act 2 brings with it some very grown up issues like betrayal and even adultery, as Prince Charming explains candidly, “I was raised to be charming, not sincere!” I expect there were a few teachers slowly sinking into their seats wondering how on earth to explain to Class 14b what was going on in the scene where Prince Charming and the Baker’s wife disappear behind a tree with all but their feet on display to suggest what they’re up to!
Dave Lobley has directed his cast well and imaginatively with scenes running smoothly in and out of one another.
Musical Director, Rachael Plunkett, has realised the best of each of the cast's voices. This Sondheim score is certainly not one of the easiest and yet LTC seem to breeze through it. Victoria Tewes and Sarah Pettican are especially impressive and the cast are fortunate to have an orchestra that also sound amazing conducted by Clare Penfold.
Lighting is also used to good effect, subtly setting the mood of each scene. There are also some excellent sound effects bringing out the believability factor; we may not see the giantess but we certainly feel as though she may step out from the wings at any given moment.
Into the Woods may be a rather lengthy show (3 hours including the interval) and Sondheim's music may not be everyone's cup of tea but a huge testament to its appeal and to the talent of the LTC cast is the fact that every single one of those children in the audience were kept as entranced throughout as I was.
Congratulations and thanks to LTC for yet another enjoyable show.
Get your tickets now at www.southendtheatres.org.uk
Photo courtesy of GP Photography
Ask the Audience
Brontë, 10, Chafford Hundred
“I thought it was really good. I liked Rapunzel, Little Red Ridinghood and the Narrator the best. I wanted to see the show because I saw the film.”
Victoria, 41, Chafford Hundred
“Prince Charming was my favourite. He’s definitely one for the ladies! I thought the costumes were really good and the scenery.”
Christopher, 45, Chafford Hundred
“I really got to appreciate Sondheim from watching Sweeney Todd. I watched the film of Into the Woods but only got to see it half way through. I thought that the end of Act 1 was actually the end and didn’t realise that there was dark side to the production. I really enjoyed it.”
Oriana, 13, Chafford Hundred
“My favourite was the Baker’s Wife, the Narrator and Prince Charming. I watched the film and thought that this show was better.”
“I thought it was really good. I liked Rapunzel, Little Red Ridinghood and the Narrator the best. I wanted to see the show because I saw the film.”
Victoria, 41, Chafford Hundred
“Prince Charming was my favourite. He’s definitely one for the ladies! I thought the costumes were really good and the scenery.”
Christopher, 45, Chafford Hundred
“I really got to appreciate Sondheim from watching Sweeney Todd. I watched the film of Into the Woods but only got to see it half way through. I thought that the end of Act 1 was actually the end and didn’t realise that there was dark side to the production. I really enjoyed it.”
Oriana, 13, Chafford Hundred
“My favourite was the Baker’s Wife, the Narrator and Prince Charming. I watched the film and thought that this show was better.”