INTO THE WOODS
Noël Coward Theatre
★★★★★
“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.
INTO THE WOODS
Noël Coward Theatre
Reviewed on 7th October 2026
by Jonathan Evans
Photography by Johan Persson
