Given the almost total dearth of professional musical theatre in Ireland and Northern Ireland, the musical excellence and sheer theatrical panache of this production from Belfast-based Kabosh Theatre Company comes flying delightfully out of nowhere. That composer-writer Conor Mitchell, director Karl Wallace and their five performers put the whole thing together - book, lyrics, music, and all - in only 21 days makes the accomplishment all the more mind-boggling. But even with so much talent and energy, this particular combination of material and style disappoints. Given that Sondheim did it so definitively in his classic 1979 version, did the world really need another almost totally sung-through telling of the Sweeney Todd story in a quasi-operatic, music-hall vein?
That said, on its chosen terms this production delivers extremely well, balancing cleanly between tongue-in-cheek, theatricalised self-awareness and wide-eyed earnestness as its gory tale unfolds. The only set pieces are a few chairs and an impressive number of musical instruments played by the multi-talented, role-swapping cast, with Allison Harding and Diane O'Keeffe as standouts. The pure pleasure in seeing and hearing actors on an Irish stage deliver emotionally credible performances through song cannot be overemphasised.
There is the sense, however, that the material's scale overwhelms the size of its stage, which is another way of saying that it just goes on too long. Some of the musical numbers drag, and the piece overall would benefit considerably from some nips and tucks.
But full marks to the ever-adventurous and increasingly accomplished Kabosh for taking on and delivering a project of such wild ambition, and for providing a platform for the 26-year-old composer Mitchell. We can only wait with anticipation, for him to apply his prodigious talent to new material.
· At Garter Lane Arts Centre, Waterford, on April 14. Box office: 00353 51 855038. Then touring.
