Q&A - Tim McArthur (Into The Woods)

In 2014, director Tim McArthur's dark interpretation of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's twisted fairytale musical Into The Woods premiered at Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre. This year, the production has returned to the Cockpit Theatre, and McArthur has joined the cast as The Baker, who sets out with his Wife to search for a series of objects they can give to their next door neighbour, The Witch, in exchange for a child.

 

I spoke to Tim McArthur about his role in the show, the challenges of balancing his acting and directing duties, and why Into The Woods is the perfect musical to reflect society today.

 

Tim McArthur and Jo Wickham in Into The Woods
Photo Credit - David Ovenden

For a lot of Into The Woods fans, their first experience of the musical may very well have been through the 2015 Disney film, but as a director you’ve decided to make this version much darker, as it was originally intended. 
Yes, I really disappointed with the film because they Disney-fied it, and actually the original stage show is a lot darker. The whole musical is about loss, and being responsible for your actions, and the ripple effect of how one thing you do can affect other people, and don't think that came across in the movie at all.

It’s interesting that often when a movie musical is released there is an influx of interest in the original source material, but Into the Woods didn't really seem to have that sort of attention. Why is now the right time to stage a production of this Sondheim staple? 
We've got this sort of society where we really don't care about each other. There's more crime, there's more greed, and more fighting. Even conflict between people in the streets, especially since the Brexit. I think it's given people a certain way to behave towards each other. And, I think the issues within the show are really relevant, because everyone feels those issues within society, and also, everyone suffers loss, and grief, and greed, and that desire for always wanting something more. Once you get something, you want the next thing, which the musical also addresses. I think that's really relevant today.

How does this production reflect those themes and their relevance to the present day whilst maintaining the original ideas within the musical?
Into The Woods is my favourite Sondheim show, and I've seen many, many productions of it, but because I wanted it to reflect our society today I based the characters on British reality TV stereotypes. So, we take it away from the fairy tale image, and make the characters into people which audiences might have seen on the telly. So, Jack and his mom, are like guests on The Jeremy Kyle Show. None of the changes effect the story, or what it's saying. It's just the look of the piece and the feel of the piece which we’ve altered.

Into the Woods is an interesting show because it features a big ensemble cast, and there are so many interweaving plot lines happening at once. As a director, is that something that is difficult to work with?
Not really. It's a bitty show. You don't get the full story all at once. So the pace is really important. I don't want the audience to applaud at the end of the musical numbers because it's really vital that as soon as the song finishes, we pick up the action.

As well as directing the show, you also appear as one of the protagonists, The Baker. What is it like to both direct the show and be a part of the cast?
I've got a great Assistant Director (Ellen Verenieks), who gives me notes and things to think about. And some people from previous production which I directed have come back, as well as some newbies. I wanted a company of people that would just get on with the job. And we're going to have fun with. That there's no room for any diva behaviour. So, in that way I've sort of been kind to myself.

What would you say to someone to persuade them to buy a ticket?
I would say, it's a fresh interpretation of a beloved classic musical. And it’s darker than any production of Into The Woods which I’ve ever seen!

Review - Into The Woods (Cockpit Theatre)

Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s well-loved musical Into The Woods sees a Baker and his Wife commanded by their witchy next door neighbour head off into the titular woods to find 4 ingredients which will help them to break an infertility spell and allow them to have a child. On their journey they run into famous storybook staples like Little Red Ridinghood, Cinderella and even the evil Wolf, but no one is quite as two dimensional as they seem on the page, as Into The Woods explores what happens after “happily ever after”.
 

Michele Moran as the Witch in Into The Woods
Photo credit - David Ovenden

Located in a fairy tale world melded with our own, where the Princes waltz around in pastel coloured blazers and boat shoes (classic Made in Chelsea fair), the evil stepsisters are wannabe TOWIE stars, and the Baker and his Wife slave away behind the counter at Greggs, Tim McArthur’s reinvented production of Into The Woods locates its focus not only on family but also the state of society, as it draws attention to the contrasts between the wealthy Princes and Cinderella’s nouveau riche stepmother, and the working class underlings who suffer as a result of their actions. Most inventively, Jack (of beanstalk climbing fame) and his cider chugging, thong flashing mother are loud mouthed Glaswegians who stick out like sore thumbs, clearly judged negatively by those around them due to their implied poverty.

The production is staged in the round, allowing for the stage area to stretch outwards as well as upwards (rickety wooden ladders hang down from the sky, implying the giant kingdom above) and making plenty of room for the vast and sprawling story which drives the musical. Sadly, although Joana Dias’s set is inventively designed, it does often create sightline obstruction issues, and coupled with the Cockpit Theatre’s iffy sound system, some lines are lost and significant moments blocked from view.

 

The cast of Into The Woods
Photo credit - David Ovenden

Cutting through the unreliable acoustics, Michele Moran is a revelation as the Witch. As creepy as the crone who sends the Baker and his Wife off on their journey as she is statuesque and poised as the almost ethereal post-curse enchantress, Moran thrills with glimmering vocals and an immutable presence. Louise Olley is similarly spectacular as Rapunzel, her crystalline soprano ringing out around the space, she is wonderfully sweet, and sporting a long rope of blonde hair, she is a typical storybook Princess in the making, which only makes her inevitable act 2 downfall all the more upsetting. Florence Odumosu is also an enjoyable presence as Little Red Ridinghood, whilst Jo Wickham is hilarious as the motherly Baker’s Wife, lured from her safe story by the temptation of an exciting forest tryst with a womanizing member of the royal family.

Despite the multitude of characters populating the musical, each exploring their own storyline, the production does suffer from a bit of fatigue in act two. The story moves quickly, but the songs are staged a little too leisurely and incidentally, making some of the less eventful tunes stop the plot in its tracks. The dramatic deaths which come thick and fast post-interval also have relatively little impact on the characters, thus lessening the emotional impact of the denouement. When the story comes to a head and Abigail Carter-Simpson as Cinderella leads the surviving characters in a rousing rendition of No One Is Alone, the song is undeniably impactful, but doesn’t quite reach tear-jerking emotional heights.

Nevertheless, Tim McArthur’s production of Into The Woods is a creatively staged and hits almost all the right notes. With a talented ensemble cast, and imaginative design, it makes the most of the petite Cockpit Theatre stage, and brings plenty of charm, as well as darkness, to the magical musical.