"I was fondled and kissed and called a pretty boy," The historical Sweeny Todd testified in court regarding his mother. "But later I used to wish I was strong enough to throttle her. What the devil did she bring me into this world for unless she had plenty of money to give me so that I might enjoy myself in it?"

When he had turned twelve his outlook on life had become thus, "The church I was christened at burnt down the day after, and all the books burned. My mother and father are dead, and the nurse was hanged and the doctor cut his throat."

At thirteen he became the apprentice of a cutler (one who manufactures and sharpens knives and razors), by the name of John Crook. As was the norm during that era, apprentices were basically cruelly mistreated slaves. It was also a common practice at that time to force apprentices to thieve and steel on their masters behalf and if they were caught, the apprentice would also go to the gallows on their masters behalf. Two years after he began his apprenticeship, Sweeny was arrested for petty larceny. While even under-aged children were hanged for such crimes, young Todd was shown compassion by the judge. Instead of death, he was given five years in New Gate prison. (It is unknown weather Crook was a co-conspirator in this instance). It was a visit to this very prison that inspired Charles Dickens to write Oliver Twist.

In prison, under the tutelage of a man named Plummer, Sweeny Todd began another apprenticeship: barbering. Not long after his release at the age of nineteen Sweeny Todd became a ‘flying barber’ or ‘gypsy’ barber and married a woman ‘of loose morals.’ The following is an excerpt from a London paper about the first murder attributed to Sweeny Todd: "A most remarkable murder was perpetrated in the following manner by a journeyman barber that lived near Hyde Park Corner, who had been jealous of his wife...A young gentleman, by chance coming into the barber's shop to be shaved and dressed, and being in liquor, mentioned having seen a fine girl in Hamilton Street, from whom he had had certain favours the night before, and at the same time describing her person. The barber, concluding this to be his wife, and in the height of frenzy, cut the young gentleman's throat from the ear to ear and absconded."

For the full history of the real Sweeny Todd go here: Sweeney Todd - Man or Myth?

Mr. Sondheim wrote his fictional version of events based on the many legends surrounding Sweeny Todd but I thought it would be interesting to examine the facts: The rigged barber chair and the trap door in the floor were real. Mrs. Lovett, the accomplice who turned her victims into meat pies was real. The young barber’s apprentice driven half mad by the goings on at Sweeny’s shop was real. A Beadle, (or security guard) as one of the victims was at least circumstantially real. The smell of rotting corpses the clue that led police to suspect a crime, was real. Sweeny’s long lost wife and daughter, their horrid fates determined by a treacherous judge and the mad barber’s noble pursuit to avenge them are all fabrications.

To avoid the public lynching awaiting her, the real Mrs. Lovett poisoned herself in prison. Todd’s demise in Sondheim’s play is also a fabrication. So I’m not spoiling anything when I tell you that the real Sweeny Todd was arrested without incident and stood trial for the murder of 160 people. It was the first case in recorded history where forensic evidence was presented by the prosecution: "Mr. Thornhill (one of Todd’s actual victims) met with a very unusual and painful accident," Dr. Sylvester Steers testified. "The external condyle or projection on the outer end of the thighbone, which makes part of the knee joint, was broken off, and there was a diagonal fracture about three inches higher upon the bone. I had the sole care of the case, and although a cure was effected, it was not without considerable distortion of the bone. From my frequent examination I was perfectly well acquainted with the case, and I can swear that the bone in the hands of the jury was the one so broken to which I attended." On January 25th 1802, after ten minutes of deliberation, the jury found Todd guilty. The manner in which he was executed was a public hanging. One would think this morbid tale would hardly make for good musical theatre but in the hands of a genius like Stephen Sondheim anything is possible.

The music and the voices in the Kelowna Actors Studio production were brilliant. Neville Bowman who played the demon of Fleet street proved to be as phenomenal an actor as he is a musician bringing body, mind and spirit to a character without moral fibre, driven solely by one thing: vengeance. Kelly Whelan as Mrs. Lovett, Todd’s partner in crime was a perfectly twisted loon with solid vocals and an innate sense of comedic timing. The stand-out performance for me though had to be Twyla Spittle as the twelve-year-old apprentice, Tobias. The whole play was meant to be unnerving but her mesmerizing character in the final scenes stood the hairs up on the back of my neck. Spectacular.

Even though Halloween is several months away, if you're in the mood for something macabre set to hauntingly wicked music and performed by a very talented group then this play will be just the thing but it only runs for another couple of weekends so get your tickets soon Happy belated Easter.