Poor Henrick has problems hanging himself - which is actually quite a feat in Paul Kerryson's spectral, moon-washed production of Sondheim's masterpiece, in which everything is held in a state of magical suspension. Chandeliers, grand pianos and banqueting tables all dangle languidly from the midnight sky. Only Henrick has neglected to attach his rope to anything and tumbles back to earth.
Jody Crosier's splenetic portrayal of this suicidal student is just one of the many tragi-comic delights that Kerryson teases from this glittering group portrait of the early 20th-century Swedish demi-monde at play. For this 1973 hit, Sondheim brilliantly plucked Ingmar Bergman's film Smiles of a Summer Night from the European art house and set it down on Broadway, bringing urgency and coherence to its Chekhovian montage of character studies with a score propelled by brisk polonaises and pointed, waltz-time set-pieces.
The result has to be the frostiest piece of musical comedy ever written. From the moment the cast glides out onto the glacial, reflective surfaces of Paul Farnsworth's set, you sense that these neurasthenic, vacillating creatures are skating on very thin ice.
Fading actress and femme fatale Desirée Armfeldt provides the show with its centre of gravity, given that all the amorous plot lines eventually lead to her; and that she is gifted the ubiquitous hit number, Send in the Clowns. Kathryn Evans is perfectly poised in the part: physically louche and vocally lavish. As her old flame, Fredrik, the excellent Russell Dixon bumbles poignantly around her like an aged bee round a honeypot.
Skilful musical director Julian Kelly has a proper band to play with - what a treat to hear Sondheim's sly allusions to Viennese operetta played by a full pit orchestra with real strings. He is equally blessed with a pool of fine voices: Annalene Beechey is especially sweet in the wide-eyed innocent role of Anne.
Ultimately, though, one can get too much of this kind of thing. The high point arrives with one of Sondheim's finest ensemble narratives: A Weekend in the Country. With this particular crowd of highly-strung house guests, a weekend is probably quite enough.
Until May 19. Box office: 0116-253 9797.
