Into The Woods

Taking on a Sondheim is no mean feat. It requires so much to pull it off – but Chocolate Box Theatre do just that – and quite brilliantly. This dark work set in fairy tale land unfolds with such complexity that it was hard to see how it could work in a small space, but the clever staging worked so well that you felt like you were in that land and not in a theatre at all, pure magic.
The company are all first class too, great voices and characterisations that carry the lyrics in a clear way, important with Sondheim who progresses his narrative in song. Emma Edwards’ direction allows the cast to find both the sinister and the comedy in the piece and the decision to set it in WW II works well, and affords the designer license to have fun with the period too. Outstanding performances, too many to name but… hats off to Lev Govorovski who as the narrator was quite astonishingly captivating and still only a child himself in this stunning fairytale world. Five glittering stars all round.
Emporium
5 July
Andrew Kay

Rating: