The story of Sweeney Todd began as a serial piece in 1846, titled: String of Pearls. It appeared in the notorious penny dreadfuls, cheap, grisly pulp fiction. There has been some debate as to whether Sweeney Todd is fiction, legend or nonfiction. This popular narrative has known numerous stage incarnations, throughout the years, the most recent being Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s musical in 1979, not to mention film, ballet and television. And of course, Pocket Sandwich’s spoof, by Joe Dickinson..
Depending on the version (and there are many) you experience, the story goes like this. Sweeney Todd has it in for a corrupt Judge, who sent him away to prison, kidnapped and raped his fiancee. He sets up his trade as a barber with mad skills and thus in demand. There he will polish off the judge. As he contemplates his revenge, he encounters Mrs. Lovett, whose meat pie business is foundering miserably. Together they cook up the idea to replace regular meat with the victims of his homicidal impulse. Ironically and apparently, the public prefers human flesh and Mrs. Lovett’s business goes through the roof. The other characters include Sweeney’s grown daughter, a persistent detective, his young friend during imprisonment, and Tobi, a sweet orphan they hire to help Mrs. Lovett.
This Dickensian yarn certainly has layers. When Sweeney’s plot to murder murder the Judge fails, he resolves to indiscriminately kill any hapless bloke whose ass hits his cunning barber chair. His more or less understandable desire to avenge his exploitation, morphs into something wicked and pathological. The subsequent success of the meat pies becomes a metaphor for society and cannibalism. [Consider The Threepenny Opera’s Cannon Song, or What Keeps Mankind Alive? ] Sweeney’s seachange slowly engulfs all of his friends and loved ones, who meet with cruel demise. Is degeneracy inevitable? Does culture breed an insatiable taste for mayhem and blood?
I gladly count myself among those much relieved to find The Pocket Sandwich Theatre’s move to Carrollton, has succeeded and actually increased seating. (I think.) Their notorious touch for irreverent satire still holds steady, and the ebullient merriment, the fizzy dizzy mockery of rational logic, holds everyone in stitches. It does your heart good to find your self in the throng
of raucous, bubbly cheer. Joe Dickinson’s spoof of Sweeney Todd is about as serious as your Aunt Mable, in her cotton nightgown, cold cream and curlers. It’s closing weekend, so don’t miss this yummy feast!
The Pocket Sandwich Theatre Presents: Sweeney Todd (the Fiend of Fleet Street) closing this weekend on November 16th, 2024. 1104 Elm Street, Carrollton, TX. (214) 821-1860