I HAVE to admit to being a little apprehensive about this one – having not seen the show before I imagined that it wouldn’t exactly be a bundle of laughs, writes Andrew Powell

A bundle of laughs it wasn’t – although there were some very funny moments – but slick, flowing, full of energy and talent it most certainly was.

It never ceases to amaze me the depth of passion and talent one can see produced from local operatic societies at our own little theatre – and it struck me part way through this performance how one would have been very happy to have paid twice as much as this (and more) to see a show of this quality in the city.

Evil Judge Turpin (Julian Bissell) lusts for the beautiful wife of a London barber (Paul Mitchell) and transports him to Australia for a crime he did not commit. Returning after 15 years and calling himself Sweeney Todd, the now-mad Todd vows revenge, applying his razor to unlucky customers and shuttling the bodies down to Mrs Lovett (Louise Walton), who uses them in her meat-pies to great success. Though many fall to his blade, he will not be satisfied until he slits Turpin's throat.

The first thing that struck and impressed was the ingenious four-sided cuboid scenery, all on two levels. What an excellent idea which worked magnificently on the Palace Theatre stage. What may have seemed a little cumbersome at the beginning turned into a fascinating and intriguing way of constantly changing the scene.

There is some talent in this team, for sure. Mitchell was totally convincing as the menacing and moody barber, although there were funny bits, especially after the red chair appeared and bodies started being dispatched down the chute to the room below. Not sure whether we were supposed to laugh at this point, but there was a definite comic element to the procedure. And then there was the blood – how it flowed!

Walton as Mrs Lovett certainly had one of the best voices – and presence – on the stage. For one of such obvious youth, she carried off the part of the middle aged pie maker brilliantly, with strong and confident vocals.

Jonathan Boxall-Southall’s touching and clear vocals were a delight and added authenticity to the show, and were beautifully complemented by India Peart-Barr as love interest Johanna.

Meanwhile Bissell’s confident and experienced tones at the nasty judge were balanced in perfect harmony by the wacky performance of Liz Bird as the beggar woman. Andrew Halliday’s unusual tones added a nice touch as Beadle Bamford, while Craig Robert McDowall provided a lovely performance as orphaned, but rather simple Tobias Ragg.

It really is not practical to mention everyone is a review such as this, but every one of the society played a pivotal role in this show with a classic operatic twist at the end, which successfully managed to be gruesome and witty at the same time.