Nothing Grimm about this wonderful show
As the fantastical story Into the Woods comes to Bath Theatre Royal JEFFREY DAVIES catches up with co-director Leah Hausman and actor Rhashan Stone to fine out what’s in store
DESCRIBED as ‘the theatrical event of the year’, a spectacular and delightfully playful new staging of Stephen Sondheim’s legendary musical Into the Woods takes to the stage in the West Country next week before its appearance in the West End.
Based on James Lapine’s book, the fantastical story combines some of the best-known fairy tales in a captivating musical adventure, the story unfolding through the inquisitive eyes of a young girl playing with a Victorian theatre.
A world-class creative team led by iconic stage and film director Terry Gilliam and co-director and choreographer Leah Hausman brings this magical tale to life. Together with designer Jon Bausor and costume designer Antony Mcdonald, their vision and design promise to create the most spectacular production ever staged at the Theatre Royal Bath.
Once upon a time in her enchanted world, a baker and his wife set out to reverse the curse which has left them childless. Along the way they meet Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Cinderella, two charming princes, Jack and a witch. In the end, says the blurb, this one-of-a-kind musical is about the stories we tell, the paths we take and the lessons we pass on.
The award-winning ensemble West End cast includes Julian Bleach, Audrey Brisson, Nicola Hughes, Rhashan Stone and Alex Young, who are joined by Gillian Bevan, Nathanael Campbell, Maria Conneely,
Lauren Conroy, Jamie Birkett, Samuel Holmes, Charlotte Jaconelli, Henry Jenkinson and Barney Wilkinson.
This imaginative new production is presented by Scenario Two and Theatre Royal Bath Productions and arrives as a timely celebration of the late composer, songwriter and lyricist Stephen Sondheim’s unparalleled impact on musical theatre. The celebrated American composer died last November, aged 90.
‘Spectacular’. ‘The theatrical event of the year’. What plaudits, I remarked to a most friendly Rhashan Stone, who stars as the Baker.
“That’s a very nice description. When you’ve got Terry [Gilliam] and Leah [Hausman] directing, it really will be an event. The ideas they’ve come up with for this show are just breathtaking and the scale of it is truly visually impressive,” the London-based American actor told me during a break in rehearsals.
‘An imaginative and delightfully playful production too’. Praise indeed, I added.
“It is. That was such a sad time for anybody who knew Stephen or knew anything about Stephen Sondheim’s work. We are really proud to be mounting this production now. But there is a tinge of regret that he doesn’t get to see a show that he was so excited about happening. He just loved the mischief and playfulness that Terry and Leah talked about with the production. He adored it. I just wish that he’d had the chance to see it. Hopefully we’ll do his piece proud.
“The story is territory that Terry has trodden before. It’s based on the original Grimms’ stories so you’ll find all of our usual favourites like Little Red Riding Hood, Bad Wolf and The Witch. But what Stephen and James Lapine – who wrote the book – have very cleverly done is to place at the centre of the characters we all know a baker and his wife. They represent the audience. They are not from the Grimms’ Tales. They are just ordinary people who live in this land populated by characters that we know. They are the ‘every people’ in the story who are desperate to have a child but can’t and don’t know why. But very quickly you find out why they can’t,” the 52-year-old actor, born in New Jersey, teased, without wishing to reveal too much about the show.
Is Into the Woods, first staged in 1986, a musical or a show with music?
“That’s such a good question. Before this production I would have said that it was a musical because it has lots of music and singing. But actually, in Terry and Leah’s vision of it, the story comes through in a way that perhaps hasn’t been seen before. So while it will feel like a musical, there’s a very strong character-driven play underneath it.”
A family show? The Brothers Grimm stories can be quite dark, I remarked. “I would say that it is a show for everyone, especially for anybody who knows Terry Gilliam’s work and the Pythonesque element of that. Terry’s such a mischievous man! His energy, enthusiasm and sense of mischief is wonderful. He just wants to be playful and doesn’t want to preach to an audience. He wants them to just roar with laughter. So the show’s a balancing act between entertainment and a story that is a cautionary tale. It does have a sort of be careful element which the Grimm stories in their original form had,” Rhashan said. Rhashan’s many theatre credits include All About Eve, Sweeney Todd and Hamlet. In TV, some of his highlights include Mcdonald & Dobbs, Agatha Raisin, The Bill, Casualty and Holby City.
“Most of the television work I have done has been filmed in Bristol and Cardiff so I’ve been in and around the West Country and Wales for the best part of ten years. The much-loved Mcdonald & Dobbs was shot in Bath and Agatha Raisin was shot in both Bath and Bristol. Travelling around the UK and visiting different places is an aspect of the job I love,” Rhashan confessed with a smile.
Last year Rhashan appeared in the popular but somewhat interesting and quirky TV comedy drama Finding Alice. Did he enjoy making that one?
“Yes I did. It was drama but it had a comedic side to it. It had an amazing, experienced and lovely cast of actors like Joanna Lumley, who I am such a huge fan of. To turn up on the first day and to be sat next to her at the read-through was a massive thrill. It also had Nigel Havers, possibly the nicest man in showbusiness, and Keeley Hawes, who’s a great company leader. She’s what you call an old pro even though she’s not old!”
Rhashan said with a laugh.
Co-directing Into the Woods is American choreographer Leah Hausman.
“It is a piece of music theatre. A musical that stands apart from things like Anything Goes or Carousel. It does, of course, have musical numbers and themes, but it is one that leans towards the dramatic side of things that leads into the song and dance,” a most delightful Leah told me.
“It is imaginative, playful, unexpected and funny with some dark humour. It’s a visual feast for family audiences as well. They will have a grand time watching this piece. There are some challenges in terms of one’s expectations of what a musical might normally ends with. But this one is all about what might happen after a happy ending and we’re really enjoying pushing that point home. It works on many, many levels and therefore kids will enjoy many aspects of it even as we go into darker territory. It’s still got those characters but set in different circumstances.”
A highly acclaimed composer, songwriter and lyricist, how would Leah describe Stephen Sondheim’s contribution to music and musical theatre?
“He did some of the most amazing pieces all of us have ever seen. As regards the musical theatre side of things Sondheim’s a god. Together with Lapine they pushed boundaries in musical theatre,” Leah answered.
A co-director of Into the Woods with former Monty Python Terry Gilliam, why does this production require two directors?
“We do a lot of preparation and we do that all together. A lot of the ideas are generated before we get anywhere near the rehearsal room. Those are to do with characters and staging. When we get into the rehearsal room and planning period, Terry leans much more towards the technical side of things. Towards the sets, towards the video and towards the lighting.
“I am much more involved in how we stage things, how the events can happen, dealing with the performers, taking the cast through their paces and figuring out how best to stage a scene,” Leah explained.
Juggling so many roles within her co-director brief must be stressful, to say the least, I suggested.
Leah burst out laughing. “That’s an understatement, Jeffrey! It takes up most of your waking hours and your sleeping hours. There are so many things to deal with and on so many different levels like interpersonal relationships you have with the actors, the technicians and stage managers and so on, as well as involvement in all the many details of the production. Every moment has something happening in it that could potentially go wrong. But Terry just loves to have a lot of things to play with,” Leah said, with a clear admiration for her co-director, while informing me that they are being very faithful to the script and to the score they are interpreting. A challenging play to stage? “Yes. Probably one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done, and I’ve worked on some very big productions. This one’s fast and furious. We’ve given ourselves a very big challenge especially to be in the Theatre Royal, which is a very beautiful theatre, but small. So technically it’s a challenge, yes,” Leah said, with the air of someone who knows that it will be all right on the proverbial night.
Leah has worked as a choreographer, movement director and associate director on both sides of the Atlantic.
And a final word from her co-director – American-born British filmmaker, animator, actor, comedian and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe, Terry Gilliam.
“For me, Into the Woods is about mixing a modern sensibility with a fairy tale that lets you play between those worlds, showing how they they’re similar and how they contrast. Audiences can expect joy, horror, beauty, imagination; the full range of theatrical experience. I hope audiences take away with them surprise, amazement and stunned admiration,” he laughed, adding that he hoped everyone had a good night out.
The winner of multiple Tony and Olivier Awards, Into the Woods was recently adapted into a major film with an all-star cast led by Meryl Streep and James Corden.
Into the Woods is playing the Theatre Royal Bath from August 17 to September 10. Tickets can be booked on 01225 448844 or online at www.theatreroyal.org.uk
Cover photo: Matt Crockett