Sweeney Todd – a tale of love and revenge
The Manoel Theatre’s first in-house musical theatre production is one of the darkest ever written. ROGER TIRAZONA and STEPHEN OLIVER give their take on the bloodthirsty characters.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a multiple award-winning musical, but even those who have never seen it will know from its title that it is not a romantic comedy.
The musical, set in Victorian London with music and lyrics by the late Stephen Sondheim, tells the story of Benjamin Barker, a barber who is unjustly exiled to Australia for 15 years by Judge Turpin.
Upon his return to London, Barker starts calling himself Sweeney Todd and seeks revenge against the ruthless judge who has ruined his life. The story first appeared as a serialised fiction piece in Victorian times and has since been adapted to many different plays and films. A 1973 play inspired Sondheim to write this musical.
Roger Tirazona, who will be playing the title role, has gone to great lengths to prepare for it. “I did my research on the play that inspired Sondheim, in an effort to get inside the composer’s head,” he explains. “The complexity of the show is unparalleled, and, in terms of preparation, there is only one...