Sweeney Todd : The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Birmingham REP

Book: Hugh Wheeler

Music and Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim

Director: Joe Murphy

Sweeney Todd plunges audiences into a world where brutality is inescapable and darkness clings to every cobblestone, a macabre musical that marries razor‑sharp violence with hauntingly atmospheric storytelling as a vengeful barber and his accomplice drag London into their spiralling nightmare. A vicious spree of throat‑slashing revenge spirals into a grisly enterprise, turning London’s unsuspecting masses into the meat of his murderous fury.

Ramin Karimloo wields the barber’s blade for the first time in his Sweeney debut as the titular character presenting his audience with a raw and unhinged version whose descent into madness has already well begun before the musical has even started. He commands the stage with his lust for revenge and charms his customers, and audience, into his horrifyingly inviting barber’s chair with sharp precision. However, underneath this confident façade lies an irrevocably broken man who is determined his naivety and foolishness shall not be his downfall again.

Appearing beside the shadow-drenched executioner is cabaret performer Meow Meow as the deranged but faultlessly faithful Mrs Lovett. Mrs Lovett is a brilliantly twisted blend of charm and depravity, a warm‑voiced, quick‑witted opportunist whose cheery demeanour masks a ravenous moral void. She is resourceful to the point of ruthlessness, driven by a desperate hunger for affection and survival, and her buoyant humour only makes her cannibalistic ingenuity more chilling.

Not to forget the spine-chillingly seedy and sleazy Judge Turpin played by David Bedella,  each appearance on stage adds a new level of depravity and perversion, willing the audience to pray for his downfall at the hands of the cut-throat Todd. His stage presence and delivery assures the audience’s skin crawls with revulsion and they’re never allowed a moment to relax.

Shem Omari James and Jo Stephenson as Anthony and Joanna provide a stark contrast to the impenetrable darkness with the evolution of their undeniable love. Together they hold a level of pure innocence and hope in their beautifully haunting melodies which the audience wills to survive from their first connection. They bring a childishness and brightness in both their movements and vocals never before seen to the role.

Alongside the cast, the stage is dominated by a merciless construction of unforgiving stone, overseen by the suffocating presence of the angel of justice. Shadows plaster the walls denying any privacy and revealing every unforgivable sin of each character onto the walls. Smoke floods every crevice of the stage as the chorus of death ominously foreshadows the death marked events yet to come.

Sweeney Todd delivers a uniquely electrifying blend of horror, humour and high‑calibre musical storytelling, plunging into a world where tension coils through every scene and the brutality feels both shocking and irresistibly theatrical. It’s a rare production that marries razor‑sharp wit with operatic darkness, offering unforgettable performances, a score that thrums with menace, and a narrative that grips from the first ominous note to the final devastating moment. It’s bold, visceral and utterly compelling, the kind of theatre that leaves you breathless long after the curtain falls.

Runs until 15 August 2026