Customer Reviews

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

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Though the book is titled "Sweeney Todd," this is NOT the edition adapted by Christopher Bond, which later served as the basis of a Stephen Sondheim musical.

This paperback edition presents the play "Sweeney Todd" written by George Dibdin Pitt. This book is also edited by Marvin Kaye, himself New York producer/director/theater scholar, and is based on the British 1928 paperbound edition which, according to the introduction, "is rife with flaws that make it unplayable without redaction." It is easy to imagine the deeply flawed condition of the 1928 text as it must have undergone many pirated productions during the 19th century so his editorial principle should be welcome. (Brief notes are attached to the places where he emended the 1928 text, with original words and the reasons for changes. The book also has four pages of "Advice for Staging Sweeny Todd" from Marvin Kaye.)

In this play, as you see, Sweeney Todd appears as totally Victorian theatrical villain, who rejoices in doing what he does without any apparent reasons. He is not the victim of social injustice and his ingenious killings have nothing to do with his revenge. The melodramatic story unfolds very fast with incredible coincidences and theatrical contrivances. This readable four-act play is a strictly Victorian crime melodrama and should be enjoyed as such.

The story, though considerably condensed, is basically the same as the novel versions (at least two versions exist) except several changes inevitable for stage production. Things get a bit confusing (and weak) at Act Four, but the book still offers a fascinating read.

Sadly it seems not many things are known about the playwright George Dibdin Pitt or the contemporary stage productions. According to Wordsworth's "The String of Pearls," original novel about "Sweeney Todd," around the late 1840s (when the original weekly serial novel was published as "Penny Dreadful") and early 1850s , many pirated versions of the play were staged at theaters, so it is impossible to find who really wrote this script first, or when. Still if you're interested in stage, Victorian culture or legend of Sweeney Todd, you will enjoy reading this book.

I haven't been able to read the entire play, yet I wanted this for my Acting class, to experiment with the different versions of the play in my quest for a good monologue. From what I've read, I think the newer version by Bond is great, and would recommend that one; not to say this one isn't good!