Director Nick Bagnall caught up with Damon Fairclough about Sweeney Todd…

Why have you chosen to direct Sweeney Todd?
I’ve wanted to direct it for years. I’ve seen many versions of it, from brilliant big West End productions through to a version that took place in an actual pie and mash shop in London. So I thought we should find out if the rights were available. And they were! It packs a real punch and the music is incredible, but also the story’s so fascinating – it’s gruesome, dangerous, dark and funny.

What’s your approach going to be?
I’m pretty clear how I’m going to frame it. But I am not going to tell you that as I want it to be a surprise. But I’m going to try and make Sweeney into a hero as opposed to the villain!

Really?
Yes, definitely. A lot of my research at the moment is based around Friedrich Engels’ book, The Condition of the Working Class in England, which was written at the same time that Sweeney Todd is set. I’ve been doing a lot of research into the conditions these people were living in – the squalor they were living in, especially in Liverpool at that time. It was a time when people were galvanizing themselves into unions and socialist parties. It’s a fascinating show when you look at it in that context. A judge rapes Sweeney Todd’s wife then exiles Todd, sending him away to Australia – then he’s raped and is about to marry Todd’s daughter.

So I think Todd should be a hero. Of course, he commits the most heinous of crimes, but he does it because he’s seeking revenge – and that would be a revolutionary act at the time. Also, I’m going to do it in the round, really rough and bare, and I’m going to make it sound as though it’s acoustic – just going back to the melody of Sondheim. We’ll strip it right back. And it’ll be horrific too!

Who else have you got lined up to work on the show with you?
We have our Sweeney. Liam Tobin, Everyman audiences will recognise Liam from lots of shows here over the last couple of years. As well as some familiar faces like Dean Nolan who was in the first company season and also was my Bottom in the first show I did as Associate at the Everyman, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Paul Duckworth is coming back and also Mark Rice-Oxley. As well as some fresh Everyman faces in Bryan Parry, Shiv Rabeiru, Keziah Joseph and Liverpool lass, Emma Dears. And I am absolutely delighted to be working with Kacey Ainsworth who will play Mrs Lovett.

So it is a proper gang of brilliant actors.

Our musical director is Tarek Merchant, who has just worked on the West End transfer of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Don Quixote. Our designer is Michael Vale, who co-designed the first Everyman company season in 2017.

What will be your production’s key themes?
The conditions of the working class and the show’s political edge. The fact that Sweeney Todd can be seen as a hero, I’m really going to focus on that. And then there’s the story of Judge Turpin – who exiled Sweeney – and Johanna, Sweeney’s daughter. There’s gross misconduct there. It’s really important to bring that out.

Are there any specific scenes you think are particularly important?
There are loads. I think the first killing is huge. Then there’s the meeting of Anthony and Johanna, which is tricky as it’s written in a way that’s quite wistful. I’m trying to refocus that a bit, because Anthony is a working man – he’s doing a 15 hour day with no food inside him. It shouldn’t come across like something out of My Fair Lady.

Also, something that often gets lost is the fact that Mrs Lovett, who owns the pie shop, is completely in love with Sweeney Todd. And the scene where Sweeney returns by boat at the beginning is massive – it tells the story of Sweeney coming back from Australia where he’s been exiled. He was sent away so the judge could rape his wife, but now he’s escaped, and of course he’s going to come back and want revenge.

How will your production differ from others you’ve seen?
I think it’ll be rougher, there’ll be a kind of latent violence to it. It’ll be funny – very funny – and it’ll also be macabre. I think it’s going to be really inventive in the way we do the killings.

It’ll be actor-led in the sense that our ensemble will be actors who can sing as opposed to singers who can act. And our cast will just have nine people in it, plus a band of 4. Usually there are between 25 and 30.

It sounds like a perfect Everyman show.
Definitely, it will be. And also, I’ll be including the audience in it. Doing it in the round makes it very democratic, and I love working in the round. I’ve learned that Everyman audiences want to feel included. Not necessarily in the form of audience participation, but they want to feel part of the story.

Music has got a massive part to play too – in this city and this venue. Music is the driving force in this show, which is great. I think the Everyman audience demands it. And they want danger, and they want anarchy… and I think they’ll want Sweeney Todd to be a hero!

Do you have a favourite song from Sweeney Todd?
Just for the sheer fun of it, I really like the tune sung by Pirelli, who’s a rival barber to Sweeney. And I really like Sweeney’s song, Epiphany It’s so nasty, with horrible lyrics.

I like Mrs Lovett’s pie shop song, The Worst Pies in London. I think that’s brilliant.

I think they’re all great tunes actually, they’ve all got really great stories and real bite to them. It’s my favourite Sondheim. It’s so clever musically.

Finally, for anyone in a rush, can you describe the show in one quick paragraph?
I’ll have a go.

It’s the politically-driven, stripped-back, actor-led, dirty, filthy, honest, vital, horrifying, funny, macabre story of Sweeney Todd!

Or to quote Bertolt Brecht…

“Meat first, morals later”!

Sweeney Todd is at the Everyman, Friday 12 April to Saturday 18 May 2019