A Walk Worth Taking: Into the Woods at the Bridge Theatre

Into the Woods | Bridge Theatre, London | Booking until 30th May

It’s playful, thoughtful and full of heart. The cast brings energy and honesty to Sondheim’s music, and the staging lets the forest feel like a real place. It’s a production that marries humour with weight and reminds you why this show matters.

Although Broadway has seen approximately three or four revivals, this is only the second in London. The first, which wasn’t a replica of the Broadway version, starred Julia Mackenzie as the Witch. Then there was the open-air production at Regent’s Park, featuring real trees and the glorious Hannah Wadham as the Witch. A production at the Old Vic was planned a few years ago, but it never transferred from Bath, mired in controversy surrounding the director, not the show itself, which I won’t elaborate on here.

Drawing on traditional fairy tales and Bettelheim’s The Uses of Enchantment, the show blends familiar stories of Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Little Red Riding Hood with a new tale of a Baker and his Wife who long for a child. Unfortunately, they live next door to a witch who has placed them under a curse. To reverse the curse, they must obtain a red cape, hair as yellow as corn, a cow as white as milk, and a slipper as pure as gold. Therefore, to achieve their wish, they must essentially ruin the other fairy tales.

Act One sees everyone embark on their quests. It is very funny, fast-paced, and full of humour, culminating in the traditional happy ending: the Baker and his Wife have a child, and Cinderella finds her prince. Many people say they are content with Act One and don’t understand the point of Act Two, which, I’m afraid, misses the show’s entire point.

In Act Two, we witness the consequences of the actions in Act One. The Giant has a widow, bent on revenge against the person who stole from her and killed her husband. The fairytale characters must then come to terms with the repercussions of their actions: their houses have been trampled on, and the woods have been destroyed. Characters are revealed to be different from how they initially seemed; for example, the Prince turns out to be a philanderer, with the line, “I was born to be charming, not sincere.”

All these consequences unfold, forcing them to grapple with loss and death. The act concludes with some of the most beautiful songs written for musical theatre, including Last Midnight, No More, No One Is Alone, and Children Will Listen, simply glorious songs.

I know I’m biased because I love Sondheim and I love the show. They have really done this well. I’ve seen various productions, including one in Leicester where the woods were represented by fluorescent tubes hung with black ribbons. Even in the original London version, the woods were just a series of chairs with antlers on them and on the wallpaper. The original director and librettist, James Lapine, famously asked, when shown the set model, “This show’s called Into the Woods. Where are the f@*king trees?”

This production opens with a black box, revealing the various fairytale characters, before transforming into the most gorgeous forest imaginable, courtesy of the set by Tom Scutt, which is augmented beautifully by lighting from Aideen Malone. Scutt also provides the costumes, which are a beautiful riff on Victorian fairy-tale engravings, down to the period-accurate androgynous costume for Jack.

It is absolutely beautiful and done as it should be. However, there are one or two minor issues. The Witch’s transformation is baffling. If you watch the original Broadway version on YouTube, with Bernadette Peters, you see her transform from a witch into the gorgeous Bernadette Peters. In this version, the transformation happens and you think, “Really?” She’s standing there in a long black wig and a white nightdress, a bit like Morticia Addams going to bed. She looks much better in Act Two, but that was the only serious misstep, in my opinion. Musically and performance-wise, everything else is fabulous.

I sat there marvelling at the genius of Sondheim and how the music and dialogue flow together so seamlessly. I know this show well, but it still amazes me. You almost forget they’re singing.

I went to a Thursday matinee that was full of schoolchildren and thought, “Oh dear, here we go.” However, I shouldn’t have been concerned. The children were quiet and enraptured, and the whole audience was captivated. You could have heard a pin drop, and not a single phone went off, which is a real testament to what they clearly saw.

Looking at the cast list, I saw that some of the understudies were on, and I suspected the cast were aware of the audience demographic. Jennifer Hepburn was on as the Witch and was phenomenal, so absolutely no need for reservations there. This is very much an ensemble piece and, whilst it is invidious to single out individuals, Jamie Parker and Katie Braben excel as the Baker and his Wife, bringing grounded characterisation to the madness that surrounds them. Chumisa Dornford-May is a luminous Cinderella, her rendition of On the Steps of the Palace another highlight. Jacob Fowler, who was the standby Jack, was on as well and acquitted himself superbly.

What’s refreshing here is the balance. You hear Sondheim’s wit in the lyrics, and you feel the longing in the quieter moments. There’s humour that lands and weight that doesn’t drag. The show is capable of laughter and genuine thought without one undermining the other.

Into the Woods isn’t just another musical revival. It’s a show that reminds you why this piece has stayed in people’s hearts. It’s both fun and wise. It sings. It feels. It matters. I will definitely be venturing into these woods again before the end of the run.

★★★★
(But for the botched transformation, this would have been easily a five.)

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