Into The Woods - Noel Coward Theatre - Review

If you were hoping for a fairy tale full of bright colours, talking animals, happily ever afters and just something more ‘Disney’ shall we say, then you are in the wrong place. This adventure into the woods won’t take you to magical places where fairies dance and children play, no, these winding paths venture into shadows, into places where even flowers can be dangerous and lights at the end of the tunnel can feel dim. If you are, in fact, looking for what most would perhaps consider a proper fairy tale, then maybe wait a couple more months and head to your local Pantomime, because you won’t find what you seek here with the West End transfer of Into The Woods.

With Stephen Sondheim’s Into The Woods, sugarcoating is nonexistent. This is fairy tale  buried deep in the twisted dark worlds of the Brothers Grimm, and explored in great detail. This is what is a happy ending and be careful what you wish for in a deliciously mega mash up of fairy tale characters that leaves you aching for more.

Fresh from its run at the Bridge Theatre, Into The Woods transfers into the West End taking up residence at the Noel Coward where it fits in just right. And anyone worrying that it might have lost some of its magic and grandeur moving from the modern bridge to the perhaps more traditional Noel Coward, rest assured, the set, the staging and the lighting is just as wonderful.

With this bringing together of fairy tales we meet John Dagleish as The Baker, with his wife (played by Laura Pitt-Pulford), both longing for nothing more than a child. But when their most strange of neighbours, the eccentric Witch (Kate Fleetwood) reveals she put a curse on their home meaning there is no child coming their way, they must venture into the dark and looming woods to find the items that will break the curse. But of course, that’s no easy task, for the items they need belong to Jack (more famed for the cow or the beanstalk, you decide), played by Keith Ramsay, Little Red Riding Hood (Gracie McGonigal), to Repunzel (Fiona Finsbury) and Cinderella (Simbi Akande). And as their stories interweave and leap frog each other, the ultimate questions are , what do you wish for, how far would you go to get it, and does it really make you happy?

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Having won many the heart of a musicals lover as Benjamin Button, John Dagleish steps into the role of the somewhat bumbling baker with a softness and a warm hearted innocence that is tested and pushed in a way that has the audience willing on his every move and decision. He is funny and lovable, with an energy that bounces off that of Laura Pitt-Pulford’s Baker’s Wife, strong passionate and willing to perhaps go further than he if necessary.

If there was just one word to describe Kate Fleetwood’s portrayal of The Witch, it would be powerhouse. She performs the complex, intricate musical numbers with an apparent ease and delights as the witch weaves her way into the narrative, always watching, waiting, almost like a puppet master just ready to pull on the strings. Each move is planned precisely, each knowing look and comment enough to convey the I’m better than you ideas.

Gracie McGonigal’s Little Red and Keith Ramsay’s Jack each represent childhood in their own ways. Little Red is bold and brave, playing on the idea that children like nursery rhymes because they are naughty and at times macabre. She doesn’t shy away from things a child shouldn’t understand, instead barrelling into them with a confidence that only comes with not knowing any better, all whilst maintaining a comical cheeky side. Ramsay’s Jack is the rose tinted innocent optimism of childhood, embracing adventure without a care in the world and seeing a cow meant for farming as simply a loving pet. The audience are instantly won over by Ramsay’s wide eyed and bushy tailed approach to whatever Jack finds in the woods.

As Cinderella, Simbi Akande brings to life the princess who ain’t sure she even wants to be a princess, the girl who hates decisions and finds herself forced to make many big ones, whilst Fiona Finsbury’s Repunzel dreams of life (and princes) beyond the tower without knowing what could possibly be out there. Matthew Seadon-Young and Lucas Koch join the cast for this West End run as Cinderella’s and Repunzel’s princes respectively, decked out in finery and oozing with charm. But with lines as funny and iconic as ‘I was born to be charming not sincere’, these comical characters earn many a laugh proving when it comes to princes, beauty can be only skin deep.

Now, you simply cannot discuss this production without marvelling over the work of Tom Scutt and Aideen Malone. Their set design and lighting work seamlessly together to create something entirely immersive and all together magical. When the woods are revealed for the first time, there is a collective gasp throughout the audience and somehow you feel as if you are walking into it, meandering down its twisted paths and wandering through the dappled light peaking through the trees, all without leaving your seat.

In a production that is crammed full of witty, clever songs that work their way into your brain, tunes that both soar and linger and characters we thought we knew, Into The Woods is a powerful exploration of wishes, hopes and happiness, asking big questions and leaving the audience to make up their minds as we ponder over choices, decisions and wishes. It’s a sight to behold with an extraordinary cast, and you leave with a smile on your face.