Sweeney Todd is a family affair (From Epsom Guardian)

Sweeney Todd is a family affair

3:50pm Saturday 21st November 2009

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Amateur dramatics group Opera di Nepotist recently performed their new version of Sweeney Todd in Gough Square, a stone’s throw from the Demon Barber’s parlour in Fleet Street.

This Sunday, they will be bringing the show to an equally historic location, the Normansfield Hospital Theatre, Teddington, before heading to Kingston’s Rose Theatre for a third and final performance in late January.

Opera di Nepotist was started by singing teacher Lorna Baillie in 2007 and she has enticed a number of her pupils to join the cast.

One of those, Bob Noble, who plays the wicked Judge Turpin, is also the show’s director and it was his duty to turn a cast of 36 actors, from professional leads Baillie and Quentin Hayes (who plays Todd) to young first-timers, into a well-drilled company.

“When doing other amateur dramatics shows for a week, the first night is like a dress rehearsal and then, by the Friday, it is the best it will be,” says Noble.

“With this one, we only have a few chances to get it right and that adds to the pressure.

“We have also had to re-jig the stage from Gough Square because, in Normansfield, there is a Victorian stage which is much smaller. I have had to re-block the whole thing in my head and then pass that on to the cast.”

The company’s name, Opera di Nepotist, is a play on the fact the production is something of a family affair.

Noble’s son Freddie is playing Anthony at Normansfield and his wife, Rosie, is a member of the chorus, while Baillie’s daughter Sarah played Johanna at Gough Square. Indeed, the idea for doing Sweeney Todd came from Baillie’s desire to perform in the show alongside her daughter.

Noble says Tim Burton’s popular film version of Stephen Sondheim’s musical also piqued his singing teacher’s interest, although her initial wish to recreate the film’s gory excesses was never really an option.

“The film brought it to everyone’s consciousness and we started the project around the time it came out,” Noble explains.

“a lot of the people went to the film not knowing it was a musical. Lorna wanted lots of blood, like in the film, but as soon as you start talking about hired costumes and cleaning up the stage it becomes impractical.”

The cast is, in the main, drawn from the borough of Kingston and Noble is a veteran of the local amateur dramatic scene, performing in and directing shows at numerous venues including the cornerHOUSE in Tolworth, and the Arthur Cotterell Theatre in Kingston.

“In amateur dramatics, the show is always the icing on the cake,” he says. “The cake is the rehearsal time, the sociability and fun. It’s not about the professional actors, it is about the ones who are terrified about going up on stage to begin with and by the end are loving it.”

Sweeney Todd, Normansfield Hospital, Teddington, November 22, visit operadi nepotist.co.uk

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