INTO THE WOODS AT THE ADC
JACK Neo Birmingham is lost
“Rumbustious fun fills this lavish re-telling of fairy tales.
‘Festival! ‘ echo the Ugly Sisters as they primp their outfits and gloat over the fun ahead. A gorgeously glamorous pair of autocratic sadists in true traditional style, they slaver over their exclusive invitations. And in a nasty scene of bullying Florinda ( a super-mean Millie Chew aided by Mimi Latchman’ capricious Lucinda) viciously strikes Cinderella round the head. Ditta Demeter - by the way -plays the most glam Stepmother ever and just as heartless. Unpleasant as they are, ‘Festival’ bounces through Into the Woods at a furious pace.
An end-of-term Musical is a standard celebration.Into the Woods is a perfect choice. It stars William Brady and Stella Williamson - performed with brilliant conviction, as the Baker and his wife – longing for a child. The neighbourhood witch intervenes with a list of magic requirements to break the spell of their barren state (Batya Reich begins the part well and goes on to witchy glory as the plot unfolds) At the same time Cinderella flees from her pursuant Prince, - Julia da Costa is lovely in the part but Will Bennet’s gormlessly affected Prince raises laughs from nowhere as he rambles mannered like a youthful Hugh Grant, through the ridiculous plot . Add in Jack ( an amazingly convincing Neo Birmingham) with his delightful mother ( Summer Beechey is brilliant ) face Beanstalk problems with alarming consequences – in the Second Half ( yes there is one) The giant’s wife (voiced over thankfully ) returns to exact revenge.
And let’s not forget, Little Red Riding Hood, -an adorable tweenager in Olivia Mornin -who with oodles of stage- time never flags in her comedy persona, undaunted by an encounter with gorgeously insidious Wolf (Wilf Offord is laugh-out -loud evil and stole all his scenes ) Rapunzel – Ansh Dhot - is air=headedly vacuous) in her Tower, makes a wonderfully tuneful prisoner with her great voice -and even has her own Prince ( a bedazzled cynical rendition from Jaeyen Lian). He is soon engaged in a mad rescue caper , to clamber up that golden hair. A rapturous clutch of tales collide – the action studded by remote characters – but Reuben Rackham’s , Mysterious Man was superbly convincing as a louche messenger from the ‘other side’. Oliver Kinston’s chippy annoying Steward – and it turns out murderous - inclusion is Everyman’s Servant with a grudge. And the entire ensemble would be literally nowhere without the Narrator. Once Patrick Tweedie has to abandon his overreach as Lord of the Action for a dusty death, the action springs into the Second Half Life where everyone loses , literally , the plot. Without their life script, and Patrick’s soothing Irish ? American? tones things go haywire - and how.
The Second half is famously very much a stand-alone sequel – and Into the Woods they go again, this time to cope with real threats from the invasive Giantess and their own rudderless lives. Still an epic adventure it is within the heart and the mind our characters travel. Only together, they realize, can they face their fate. Some lose their lives in the effort, some cling on - now undeceived . -
Music direction from Collier Ow was knock-out good. And Toby Trusted’s overall direction took a key favourite musical into some dark places – without a sudden Before and After break , it is all a whole. Aided by Eva Llieva ( Production values tip top) the Team seem to appreciate that, like their super-fictiional characters , they are best when they are together.
INTO THE WOODS runs until 28th March with matinés on 26th ,28th at 2.30 pm at the ADC
