A Slice of Drama

“A wink in his eye, a smirk to beguile, Sweeney held his trusted razor to the skies and let freely flow the blood of those who would moralise.”

Staging built, scripts etched into memory and songs rehearsed to perfection, the performance of the year is underway. Sweeney Todd - The Demon barber of Fleet Street - has been put together by Ashford School students with the help of pupils at the Norton Knatchbull School.

For those of you who don’t know the story of Sweeney Todd, it is a somewhat gruesome one telling the tale of a wronged barber enacting his revenge on unsuspecting customers by slitting their throats, and with his willing accomplice, Mrs Lovett, then having their flesh served up in meat pies. Rumoured to be based on a true story (click here for an account written in the Independent by Peter Haining, 3 Jan 2006) the tale has been told many times over the past 200 years with the most well known current recitation in the recent movie starring Johnny Depp.

More than just a school musical, this adventurous production is ground-breaking in many ways; the sets and costumes are modelled on the original West End production and the entire show will be accompanied by a 20 piece orchestra performing the original West End arrangements.

If this little ‘slice’ of the story has bitten down on your curiosity, come along to the performances at Ashford School this week on 18, 19 and 20 March from 7:30pm. Reserve your seats and guarantee the chance to see this wickedly entertaining tale call 01233 625171 today.

The pies are warming in the oven…