★★★★★

“Compelling and captivating”

Much has been written about the importance and, more significantly, the magic of fairy tales. How they help a growing mind deal with difficult emotions and internal conflicts. We all have our favourite one, but imagine if a few of them were intertwined together. Would that create confusion and dampen the magic? Jordan Fein’s staging of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s “Into the Woods” provides the simple answer that, if done right, the result is truly magical indeed. For nearly three hours we are enchanted, bewitched and spellbound by this production in the West End, which has transferred from its acclaimed run at the Bridge Theatre across the river.

It shouldn’t work. The musical mixes up the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales – notably ‘Little Red Riding Hood’, ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’, ‘Rapunzel’, ‘Cinderella’ – and adds some others too. It is fitting that the collaboration between Sondheim and Lapine was initially (allegedly) forged over a shared spliff at Sondheim’s New York apartment. Whether that’s true or not, it certainly goes a long way in explaining the haphazard storyline which centres on a childless baker and his wife, and their quest to begin a family.

The characters are introduced to us by the Narrator; a casually erudite Michael S. Siegel who leads us on their journey, watching from the outside but occasionally and unwittingly getting drawn into the fantastical fiction himself. They each have their own wishes. Cinderella wants to go to the King’s festival; Jack wishes that his cow could be milked while his Mother just wishes he would sell it. Little Red Riding Hood wishes to look after her grandmother; Rapunzel wishes for freedom, and the witch, in an odd twist, wishes for curses to be lifted. There are giants, wolves, princes and a mysterious man. And chaos and destruction, with plenty of darkness. But above all, the humour is brought to the fore in this revival. It is a winning and utterly compelling formula that adds untold layers onto the dreamlike wonder the show inspires.

And that is before we even get to the performances. Impeccable across the board, the cast weave the dialogue and the singing together as though spinning gold, making the complex melodies, countermelodies and switchback rhythms sound natural and simple, and layering emotion onto the technical intricacy. All the while humanising their outlandish characters. John Dagleish and Laura Pitt-Pulford have a deep-rooted and cozy chemistry, as do Keith Ramsay’s gorgeously eccentric Jack and his Mother, whose resigned and stoic tolerance of her son is beautifully portrayed by Julie Jupp. They all have their quirks, kinks and foibles. Simbi Akande is a feisty Cinderella who is more concerned with escaping her family than fawning over her prince, while Fiona Finsbury’s delightfully obstreperous Rapunzel dreams of her own escape. Gracie McGonigal, as a mischievous Red Riding Hood, makes us wonder how the wolf would even dare think about taking her on. Cinderella’s Prince and Rapunzel’s Prince (Matthew Seadon-Young and Lucas Koch respectively) make a dynamic, camp comedy duo.

It’s an impossible task to stand out among such a strong line up, but if anyone does it is Kate Fleetwood as the witch, with her starry and captivating performance. Caustic, sardonic, world-weary and extremely funny, she exudes sassy power and helpless frustration simultaneously. Her rendition of ‘Last Midnight’ is breathtaking, enhanced by the sheer spectacle of Aideen Malone’s lighting. Ethereal and mystical it creates the supernatural world of the woods. Tom Scutt’s set opens up to reveal the forest, inviting but foreboding; initially luxuriant before becoming a wasteland when things take a turn for the worse. For in this tale, they most certainly do as we learn that getting your wish is only the start of your problems. There’s no small body count in the second act as the characters battle the consequences of their actions. There is a pertinence to this make-believe world of witch hunts and scapegoats that translates to the real world, and Sondheim and Lapine’s message creeps through the ravaged undergrowth to grab us by the throat.

This is an astonishing piece of theatre that highlights every note, cadence and inflection of Sondheim’s extraordinary score. Dark but full of joy, affirming the importance of fairytales, magic and escapism. Lapine has called it “the best production I’ve ever seen, and I include my own”. We can only agree with that. Compelling and captivating. You simply must go into the woods. The only problem is that you won’t want to come out.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON at the Ambassadors Theatre

★★★★★

“every member of the ensemble cast is a vital cog in the intricate mechanism of this fine piece of theatre”

Five years ago, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” unveiled itself to little fanfare at Southwark Playhouse. Jethro Compton’s and Darren Clarke’s adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald’s fantastical short story used just five actor-musicians to tell the tale in a chamber music fashion. I described it at the time as ‘a sensational piece of musical theatre’. I was not alone. Acoustic and intimate, the only way for it to go was to grow, until last year it replayed at the larger ‘Elephant’ at Southwark, with more cast, more instruments and much more of a marketing push behind it. I felt it had lost something of the original. Nevertheless, it’s course was pre-determined. As per one of its narrative leitmotifs: ‘Time and tide waits for no man’. It’s West End premiere, bigger and better still, has remarkably, and unquestionably, recaptured the sheer magic and emotional charm of its humble beginnings.

Fitzgerald was inspired to write the story, in 1922, by Mark Twain who lamented the fact that the best part of life came at the beginning and the worst part at the end. Fitzgerald, in an attempt to turn this idea on its head, discovered that youth and old age are mirrors of each other. A witty and insightful satire it tells the story of Benjamin Button who is born an old man and mysteriously begins ageing backwards. At the beginning of his life, he is withered and worn, but as he continues to grow younger, he embraces life, falls in love, goes to war, has children, and eventually, as his mind begins to devolve again, returns to the care of his nurses, and eventual oblivion. It is a fantasy. A dark fairy tale but one that is slightly clinical and lacking in pathos. The genius of this musical adaptation partly lies in how much it is transformed into a heart-wrenching love story. Liberties are taken with the original text, but entirely necessary ones.

We are no longer in the US seaport of Baltimore, but on the Cornish coast. Compton – not content with writing, directing and co-writing the lyrics, is also the creative force behind the set. Evocatively shambolic, it recreates the small fishing village. You can almost smell the salty sea air. With the crash of a wave, we are introduced to the characters that inhabit this backwater with a poetic lyricism that echoes Dylan Thomas; and a musical accompaniment that pulls us right into the heart of the story, stronger than the moon at the highest tide. The folksy, Celtic tunes have a musical theatre veneer but are delivered with sublime energy and virtuosity by the twelve strong cast, layered with Chi-San Howard’s expert and clockwork choreography. Swapping instruments like relay batons, they keep the score alive, guiding it through the haunting ballads right up to the soaring anthems. The thirteenth cast member, who never picks up an instrument (until the encore) stands apart. The oddball. The title character – Benjamin Button. John Dagleish gives us a hangdog and tender portrayal that is also defiant and powerful. We are not long into the show when our hearts are already breaking. Rejected by his mother (beautifully and tragically portrayed by Philippa Hogg) there are shades of Kafka’s ‘Metamorphosis’ as Button is kept in the attic – a shameful secret. Hogg’s rendition of ‘The Kraken’s Lullaby’ leaves a lasting, tearful impression as she echoes the line ‘I pray you won’t wake from your sleep’.

Yet he continues to do so, for the next sixty-nine years. It is a miraculous backwards journey that extends beyond the curiosity of a life running in reverse. Time is a constant refrain, and woven into the fabric of time are the inextricable links, and twists of fate, that snowball into life-changing moments. He meets the important characters in his life twice. Notably ‘Little Jack’ (brilliantly played by Jack Quarton), a young fisherman whom Button befriends but later horrifies when he is young, and Jack is older. But it is Clare Foster’s Elowen who lights up the stage. The love of his life. Sassy and flirtatious in youth, heartbroken yet forgiving in love and vulnerably stoic in her tragic later years, her journey as she and Button travel in opposite directions is a masterstroke. When she sings ‘We have Time’, we can hear the crack of a thousand hearts throughout the auditorium.

Mark Aspinall’s musical direction and orchestration accentuate the dynamics, each crescendo and diminuendo highlighted by Luke Swaffield’s crisp sound design. While Zoe Spurr’s lighting guides us from night, back into day; from the moon to the sun and even into the depths of the sea. Each shade pinpointing each pivotal moment.

Just as every moment counts, every member of the ensemble cast is a vital cog in the intricate mechanism of this fine piece of theatre. The harmonies sweep us away leaving us slightly breathless. Yet the emotional punch doesn’t completely conceal the cleverness of Compton and Clarke’s interpretation. Relocating it to Cornwall is an inspired choice, as is shifting the narrative forward to take in most of the twentieth century. The shifting tides and man’s fascination with the moon play an important role, taking on a metaphorical and literal reality with the 1969 Moon landing. An event that confirms the protagonists’ belief that anything is possible. We get the sense that they don’t quite fully accept that optimism. And most of the time, neither do we. But the battered belief abides. And this show affirms it. From start to finish, it is a triumph. Or is that from finish to start?

Tag Archives: John Dagleish

INTO THE WOODS

★★★★★

Noël Coward Theatre

INTO THE WOODS

Noël Coward Theatre

★★★★★

“Compelling and captivating”

INTO THE WOODS

Noël Coward Theatre

Reviewed on 7th October 2026

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Johan Persson

INTO THE WOODS REVIEW

INTO THE WOODS

INTO THE WOODS

INTO THE WOODS

🎭 A TOP SHOW IN NOVEMBER 2024 🎭

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

★★★★★

Ambassadors Theatre

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON at the Ambassadors Theatre

★★★★★

“every member of the ensemble cast is a vital cog in the intricate mechanism of this fine piece of theatre”