AND so to the third of the WNO’s ‘Madness’ season that has moved from the bel canto of I Puritani to Handel’s Orlando and ended up in musical theatre with an acknowledged Sondheim masterpiece, here juxtaposing Todd’s insanity with that of society.

The story of the Victorian urban myth was here transported to the 1970s while retaining all the Victorian references (hanging, ‘putting pussies into pies’ etc.) and taking a ‘madhouse’ as it’s starting point. 

The result was somewhat of a dramatic dog’s dinner and it was difficult to see what producer James Brining thought would be gained by shifting the action forward 100 years – creative confusion resulted.

There is a lot of fine music in the modernist score though one couldn’t help wishing that some ‘cuts’ had been employed in places as the action dragged at times in Act 2 (though the sharpness of the performance certainly improved after the break). 

The singing was uniformly good (a particularly lovely Johanna from Jamie Muscato) though there was a lack of involvement from David Arnsberger in the title role (too little of the inner monster and with a most curious accent) and Janis Kelly as Mrs. Lovett (lacking the necessary vulnerability and, at times, the comic timing – she could have made far more of a meal of her opening The Worst Pies in London. She improved as it progressed). 

Steven Page was outstanding as the paedophile Judge Turpin and was well supported by Aled Hall as his sidekick Beadle.