Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods is a light-hearted musical with notoriously complex staging. Think of a giant appearing on stage for several scenes. How do you make it realistic? Magical? And how do you prevent it from slipping into pantomime while still honouring the piece? The answer, I believe, begins with a magical venue.
The Bridge Theatre once again hosts and transports us to another dimension. One where anything can happen: damsels trapped in towers, princes chasing their beloveds, an ordinary baker, or a boy embarking on an adventure. These woods hide secrets and, if you pay attention, they sing.
Several characters are compelled to enter the woods, each with their own purpose, but as with any good plot, everything converges. Their destinies are intertwined by a witch whose maleficence and thirst for revenge act as the cataclysm binding them together. Ordinary lives are transformed. Princes and peasants walk the same path towards a shared goal: happiness. By the end of Act Two, even the witch stands beside them. No one is truly left alone to face these frightening woods.
Another crucial ingredient in this potion is an imaginative director, and here enters Jordan Fein (Oklahoma at the Young Vic, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club). His direction balances comedy and drama with remarkable finesse, making the show so light and enjoyable that when tragedy strikes, that quiet “oh” moment lands with full force. Fein leads this team seamlessly from the woods to the stage.
A forest may be an unusual place to sell a cow or visit a grandmother, but it is certainly the right place to run from a prince and, no less importantly, to lift a spell. Tom Scutt, whose set design and costume work many will recognise from Cabaret, has designed a beautifully realistic set that makes you feel genuinely surrounded by the forest. Birds, a house, a tower, trees: these elements compose a landscape that invites the actors to play and fully immerses the audience.
Do get a programme, as the costume sketches are a wonderful way to appreciate his work and that of the backstage team. Audiences often only notice them and the musicians when something goes wrong, but here everything feels so precise that they become invisible in the best possible way.
All these ingredients, shaped by Fein and Scutt come to life not by magic but by an ensemble, apologies for the pun, an ensemble of giants. A puppet cow, Little Red Riding Hood, a baker, his wife, a witch. So many talented artists on stage, and not a single weak link among them. It is rare to witness such a cohesive and powerful ensemble. Their voices blend beautifully, each deserving recognition.
The full-company numbers are clean, uplifting, and joyous. Duets such as Agony left the audience in stitches. Whenever the Witch sang, we collectively held our breath. Kate Fleetwood delivers a powerhouse performance, embodying both the ugliness and the beauty of a character who uses others to achieve her goal, only to discover that beauty is not everything. The scene in which the Witch is confronted by her adopted, read kidnapped, daughter is so compelling that she momentarily ceases to be the villain and becomes deeply human. And as if the audience had not already been through enough, No One Is Alone finally releases the tears. Chumisa Dornford-May moves us profoundly, her voice reminding us of the strength found in standing together.
She is certainly an actress to watch in future productions. This gathering of finely crafted artists is what makes the production soar. The cohesion between onstage and backstage teams leaves no doubt that this is a winning show.
If there is a downside, it is that I did not want an interval. I could happily have gone straight from one act to the next, so engrossed was I. I am trying hard not to spoil anything, as I know some readers may not know the full story, but the plot offers small resolutions along the way that create a sense of achievement, subtly reshaping the traditional dramatic arc.
These actors made me feel entirely at ease. During the bows, their visible joy suggested they had as much fun as I did watching them. It felt as though they did not take themselves too seriously, in the best sense. Anyone who has worked behind the curtain knows that when a company shares genuine trust, it reaches the audience. That trust is what makes this production of Into the Woods such a thrilling adventure.
