The team behind the show includes Sassy Harvey, Daniel Brown and Elliott Fendle. This is Sassy and Daniel's first musical directorial début with TFT. Elliott directed Avenue Q in October 2019.

We decided to catch up in between rehearsals with the team behind the celebrated Sondheim musical, Sassy Harvey and her co-directors Elliott Fendle and Daniel Brown. 

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Sassy: I am very intrigued about the story behind Sweeney Todd; it is a sinister and gruesome tale set in the Victorian era with its ‘Jack the Ripper’ type character and the myths surrounding it … and it is fair to say that it is a complex story with plenty of twists and turns as the characters pursue their own personal journeys. 

However, it is not only that. I think that Sondheim’s musical score is amazing, with the different harmonies and melodies that are entwined within each of the songs.

So, when the programme schedule for this year was discussed, I knew that I had to put my name forward to direct Sweeney Todd. I am a very visual person, and I could picture clearly in my mind how I was going to direct it on the Titchfield stage.

That said, I will be honest to say that I did not fully appreciate how complex putting on this big production was! It has therefore been great to have alongside me Elliott and Daniel, together with other members of the cast and backstage crew with their experience and complementary skills, who have helped us prepare for what will be an excellent show. 

Sassy: Sweeney Todd's story is one that encapsulates excitement, romance, revenge and humour through a beautifully rich, challenging and humorous score and script. Hugh Wheeler’s script has focused the charm and wit of each spoken scene to that of a laser beam. 

Due to the lockdown affecting the rehearsal period, guidance such as social distancing and singing away from people have had to be adhered to in order to ensure that our production can be staged in doors: we have therefore moved towards a more refined chorus and a Brechtian approach to directing rather than the realist direction the audience may expect from the original stage re-production.

The large chorus ensemble has been condensed down to a fiery, ferocious and fierce trio of ‘Fates’ throughout the majority of ensemble numbers. These ‘Fates’ move the show along and help keep the Brechtian ethos.

Sassy: The majority of the blood and gore is suggested, implied and technically executed to remove the overt horror and to remain socially distanced as a cast. Don’t get me wrong: a bloody razorblade waterfall is planned to frame Sweeney Todd’s tonsorial parlour. 

Daniel: As a musician at heart, I can’t limit this to one!

Kiss Me Part 2 is a personal highlight, the four cast members involved perform the cacophony of melodies, that mirrors the complexity of their individual characters, with precision, accuracy and technically brilliance. It’s fantastic.

If I could talk about the whole music, I love Sondheim’s use of rhythm. For example the rapid changes of meter that occur in several numbers, notably in Mrs. Lovett’s “The Worst Pies in London” where the dislocations in the meter give emphasis to her attempts to swat the flies that plague her as she kneads the dough: 4/4, 2/4, 3/4, 5/4, 3/4, 5/4, 4/4, etc., or the polyrhythmic final scene with Mrs. Lovett and Sweeney Todd dancing, the rhythms of their separate lines clash, each singing in a different time signature (6/8 vs. 9/4).

Elliott: One of my favourites is the opening, as the wall of sound to open the show is amazing. 

Sassy: Lockdown did bring with it a lot of new challenges, finding our way through Zoom, to realising that a four-part harmony through Zoom is almost impossible. Yet the cast all worked so well at home to learn the songs using tracks created by Daniel Brown to ensure that the groundwork was achieved before we could re meet in rehearsals again. It hasn't been easy – originally, we had a cast of 30 in March, we are now a smaller cast of 14 to ensure that social distancing can be achieved within the space. We have had to rely heavily on technical elements to help bring the story to life effectively. As a cast, we are so excited to be able to show the hard work that we have taken for this show and to present this new version to audiences. TFT has been instrumental in bringing our show to the indoor stage. Kevin and his team have ensured the safety of the cast and audience of the theatre and we are excited to be performing in the Oak Theatre again. We look forward to seeing a reduced audience back for some much-needed theatre. 

Sassy: Over 80% of the production is set to music, either sung or underscoring dialogue. The score is one vast structure, each individual part meshing with others for the good of the entire musical machine. In my opinion, never before or since in his work has Sondheim utilised music in such an exhaustive capacity to further the purposes of the drama. As a result, some of the rehearsal process felt like rehearsing an opera. This meant we had to find new ways of engaging a cast who didn’t read sheet music with a score so densely packed its often performed symphonically! 

Sweeney Todd will be performed between Wednesday 9th – Saturday 19th September at 7.30pm (matinée performances on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th at 2.30pm) in the Oak Theatre, Titchfield Festival Theatre, St Margarets Lane, Titchfield PO14 4BG.