A thoroughly enjoyable experience throughout, with many great performances and pleasant surprises highlighted by the simple but creative staging
Into the Woods was brought to the Oxford Playhouse by University of Oxford student company Peach Productions. It provided a wonderfully chaotic storyline with a heap of fairytale references and a surprising but enjoyable mix of humour, emotion and darkness. The story begins with a simple setup: the actors begin on stage out of costume, partially hidden behind a translucent screen. The narrator appears from behind the screen and the story begins, with each character being introduced in the opening number as they don their outfit. The use of the transparent screen was very interesting, introducing the story in fairytale way before lifting and welcoming the audience in.
The staging remains simple throughout, with various pieces of cloth lowered onto the stage to give the illusion of a forest and lighting which changes colour depending on the scene and emotion being portrayed. Lighting and sound effects were used particularly well to allow certain events to happen offstage, leaving just enough to the imagination of the audience. Few props are used, most of which are accessories such as shoes and coats rather than larger pieces. The simple setup of the staging allows the characters and performances to be the focus, something which is important when so much is happening on stage at once, especially when many or even all characters are in a single scene or song.
In regards to staging, the positioning of some platforms meant that, depending on the position in the audience, some important parts of scenes were hidden behind characters who were also on stage at that time. This was most noticeable during the opening number where, from seats on the right-hand side of the audience, Jack and his mother were blocked completely from view by the baker and his wife. This was less of an issue later in the show and may not have been an issue at all from the centre, but certainly could have been improved.
Great acting and singing performances were present throughout the show, particularly from those in key roles, though no performances were poor and the cast were clearly enjoying themselves. Musical numbers were performed extremely well, even the more challenging and heavily wordy lyrics which feature heavily in this musical, though some passages were difficult to follow due to some issues with microphones. A performance which stood out in particular was that of the witch, played by Eleanor Bogie, whose movements and vocal performance were fantastic throughout. The choices of body movements were engaging, adding to the performance for many characters. For example the creeping, exaggerated movements of the narrator, played by Oliver Spooner, which added to the mystery of his role in the story.
The emotional balance of the story was another thing done very well. The occasional comical moments were enjoyable without becoming awkward or over-the-top, while the heavier moments were very acted seriously, causing genuine reactions from the audience. As someone who is familiar with the film adaptation of the story but not so much the stage version, the moments which were obviously played for comedy were a welcome surprise, particularly those between the two princes. Some of the subtler comedic moments were lost in delivery, but these wouldn’t have been missed by those new to story and didn’t significantly impact the performance.
Overall, this production of Into the Woods was thoroughly enjoyable show throughout, with many great performances and pleasant surprises highlighted by the simple but creative staging. A good balance of humour and emotion which would be enjoyed by anyone, whether they are familiar with the stories or not.
Into the Woods runs until 1st February at The Oxford Playhouse.