Into the Woods

The celebrations may be ongoing to mark Stephen Sondheim's eightieth birthday, but the carping that the composer-lyricist can be too clever by half hasn't gone away. But with musicals like 'We Will Rock You' increasingly dominating the West End, it's perhaps missing the point to complain about musical theatre that's too smart for its own good.

James Lapine's book brings together the different fairytale worlds of 'Cinderella', 'Little Red Riding Hood', 'Rapunzel' and 'Jack and the Beanstalk' as a baker and his wife try to meet the demands of a witch and bring about a satisfactory resolution for everyone. And that's just act one. After the interval, Sondheim and Lapine deconstruct the traditional fairytale ending by pursuing their borrowed characters into the 'happy ever after'. Basically it's 'Shrek' for
adults, but with some sublime music and tricksy, witty lyrics.

The Open Air Theatre provides the ideal setting for this woodland work. Soutra Gilmour's splendid airy set design of impossible intersecting Escher-like walkways both parallels the entwined trajectories of the different folk stories and carries the performers directly into the embrace of the surrounding park. Director Timothy Sheader recasts the Narrator as a small boy fleeing home after a domestic row, a shrewd move that gives Sondheim and Lapine's slightly awkward device a freshly dark fairytale resonance.

In addition, there's a brilliant cast, led by Hannah Waddingham and Jenna Russell and even including a pre-recorded performance of Judi Dench as the voice of the Giant. The latter's appearance is, I'm told, creepily satisfying: I missed it owing to a sudden downpour bringing the evening to a halt. The show's a hit; the weather remains less so.