Sweeney Todd begins next week

Next week sees the foul deeds of the notorious barber of Fleet Street enacted on the stage of the Garrison Theatre. Shetland Youth Theatre will be performing a brand new version of the gruesome tale, written and directed by John Haswell, with music composed by Borders musician Chris Achenbach.

The grisly deeds of the demon barber have fascinated audiences since the mid 19th century and this production returns to the original Penny Dreadful roots of the tale for its inspiration.

John Haswell said: “In a world where so many of our cultural reference points come from the quasi-realism of soap operas, I was attracted by the idea of creating a piece that owes more to the tradition of Victorian melodrama. I hope the result will stir all the emotions. There will be gore, songs, romance and lots of humour. This will be a theatrical romp from start to last!”

Almost thirty young people aged from 12 – 20 have been busy rehearsing for the past five weeks and are now ready to bring to life the degradation and dirt of the slums of Fleet Street that harboured the barbers shop of Sweeney Todd and the pie shop of Mrs Lovett.

Sweeney Todd will be performed from Thursday 3rd to Saturday 5 October at the Garrison Theatre. Performances start at 7.30pm, and there is also a matinee on Sat 5 October at 2.30pm. Tickets, priced £8/£6, are available from Shetland Box Office in Mareel and Islesburgh, over the phone on 01595 745 555, and online at www.shetlandboxoffice.org. The play carries an advisory age of 12+.