DTC's Sweeney Todd Review ****

I must say- I'm feeling pretty privelaged at the moment with all the great quality theatre I'm seeing lately and DTC's Sweeney Todd is now another to add to the list. I saw DTC's Sweeney Todd last night at the Drum Theatre Dandenong and I had heard from friends within the group that it was a great show. I was in no way dissapointed! The opening number- The Ballad Of Sweeney Todd- blew me away, the power of the voices and the music combined was absolutely fantastic and the cast looked the part perfectly. And it only went up from there! A combination of black humour and musical thriller Sweeney Todd would have to be one of my favourite works of Sondheim, and previous to this performance I had only seen the concert version of the show with Patti Lupone on DVD so to see the show fully realised with costume, set and lighting was an absolute treat for me. Stephen Brodie haunts the stage as Sweeney Todd with a 'monstrous' presence as the demon barber of Fleet Street. However the demonic nature of Todd is matched by the emotional attachment to his long lost daughter Johanna (Kirilie Blythman)and this makes for the perfect reason to seek revenge- one throat at a time! Stand out performances for me came from Damien Calvert as Tobias, the poor soul who is 'almost a slave' to the barber Pirelli, great characterisation from Damien espeically during the number Pirelli's Magical Elixir and then a brilliant performance of Tobia's realisation of what is really going on 'Not While I'm Around' and his descent into almost madness was performed brilliantly. Michael Banks as Judge Turpin was seedy and evil with a brilliant voice to math. Another stand out was Colin Morley- described in the program as the 'self confessed King Of Cameo'. Colin's stage presence as an ensemble member is brilliant and the various characters he plays are great- how he gets to play so many characters I'll nebver know! If there was one role though I was eagerly awaiting it was that of Mrs Lovett...and may I say the character is performed brilliantly by Gabrielle O'Brien. Of course a fantastic costume makes her look stunning her vocal and acting skills were spot on and she deserves all the applause she recieves for her brilliant interpretation of Mrs Lovett. Set was also fantastic and worked really well. The Barbers Chair is something to definately look out for...it adds for some great, yet twisted, moments! Lighting design was also great and set the mood fantastically! This is one ruby drop, my friends, of a show. The only thing I could complain about was the lack of people in the audience! Get yourself to Dandenong people because Sweeney Todd makes for a GREAT night out. 4/5 for this brilliant version of a brilliant show and congratualtions to ALL the cast and crew! Sweeney Todd is playing at the Drum Theatre Dandenong- for more details visit- http://www.dandenongtheatre.org.au/index.php