Carmarthen Journal Articles

Sweeney Todd - My Review

On Thursday 15th September, I sang my way to The Lyric Theatre to watch Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street performed by Merlin Youth Theatre. For those who aren't familiar with the story of Sweeney Todd it is a dark tale of a man obsessed with avenging the misfortune of his daughter and wife, and along his path to do this he finds himself falling darker and darker, into the shadows of Fleet Street. I have watched the film of Sweeney Todd directed by the magnificent dark mind of Tim Burton, so I was intrigued to see how Merlin Youth Theatre could bring this production to life, in front of a live audience.
The opening scene, set and the use of a smoke machine, period costume, and a brilliant live orchestra really was rather impressive and the strength of the cast even more so as they sang the ballard of Mr Sweeney Todd. Amongst the billowing smoke Sweeney played by Gareth Morgan, emerged on set and as soon as he began to sing, you knew his performance was memorable. With such stage presence he captivated the attention of the audience immediately and just like that you were transported into Fleet Street and staring up at the man who was its resident demon barber. Gareth Morgan's cockney accent and ability to transform into this dark character really did make the show what it was, and that is an eerie and thought provoking musical.
The use of such an impressive set, also aided the performance as even though it didn't allow much being left to the imagination as most minimalist plays do, it did allow you to feel apart of their community and at parts leaving you want to shout "Don't sit in that chair sir, you most definitely do not need a shave!" It was a clever way of bringing the performance to life and literally covering all angles as the set revolved so you didn't miss a thing and the use of a drop seat chair was a powerful stimulus for the audience.
However it wasn't all doom and gloom on Fleet Street as you can always trust Georgie Tipping who played the town's beggar woman to add a bit of comedy with her once again impressive performance. Erin Doherty who confidently played Aldolfo Pirelli, also had the crowd in stitches as she taught everyone how to "Shave uh the face". I was apprehensive about how Merlin Youth could pull off bringing a play such as Sweeney Todd to Carmarthen, but throughout the performance they really did prove they are simply a chip of the old block when it comes to theatre!