29 April 2026
On Monday we were at the Bridge Theatre in London to see 'Into the Woods', Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's musical mash-up of Brothers Grimm fairy tales including Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk and Rapunzel. Jordan Fein's production is a hoot, managing to be charmingly silly, but also darkly serious, reminding us of how grim the original Grimm fairy tales were. The enormous cast are all strong and Sondheim's witty lyrics and corny puns come over clearly. I was also impressed by the movement (directed by Jenny Ogilvie) including the Baker and his wife twitching like puppets under the enchantment of the witch. And there is some very cute actual puppetry (designed by Cheryl 'Chuck' Brown, Max Humphries and Tom Scutt). There is a real wow moment when the black backdrop parts to reveal Tom Scutt's remarkably realistic stage forest - an excess of green foliage lit by shafts of sunlight, creating many dark, frightening corners as the characters move into the woods. The show is a weird mix of styles halfway between opera and pantomime but it's lots of fun.
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