Pure theatrical magic
Noel Coward Theatre / Bridge Theatre
Following up his impressive open air Fiddler on The Roof, Jordan Fein directs Into The Woods for the Bridge Theatre. Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine‘s musical brings together familiar fairy tale characters encountering new deeper stories. For the critics, the 1986 musical seemed fresh and gripping, benefiting from Tom Scutt‘s lush set, and a perfect cast. So good were the reviews, it gained a transfer to the West End where it garnered even more brilliant notices.
[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]
Reviews from the transfer to the Noël Coward Theatre
5 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑
‘Picking up some new cast members along the way, Jordan Fein’s magical production of Sondheim and James Lapine’s fairytale meta-mash-up is even better than ever’, declared Tom Wicker at The Stage. He continued: ‘The joy of the show’s book and the lyrics is how skilfully they weave staples such as Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Jack and the Beanstalk into a shared universe, in which the titular woods are both the literal destination for the converging quests and storylines of these characters, and a moving metaphor for adulthood and parenthood.’
LondonTheatre‘s Julia Rank declared: ‘The entire team’s respect for the material is palpable, combined with irresistible joy and playfulness. As the evenings draw in, it provides a return to childhood with an adult twist and makes you feel everything. This return to the woods is not to be missed.’
Alex Wood for WhatsOnStage noted: ‘The heightened intimacy of the West End auditorium allows fine details in Scutt’s design to shine through, such as the way Cinderella’s gowns subtly “grow” and expand with each successive midnight as her wish snowballs. This visual detailedness is matched by technical design work from lighting designer Aideen Malone, sound designer Adam Fisher, and video designer Roland Horvath. Fisher’s sound design makes full use of the new space, pushing a subwoofer vibration through the stalls that goes well beyond what was achievable at the Bridge. Paired with Horvath’s video projections, the arrival of the giant becomes a moment of genuine awe, rattling the theatre to its core. A production that has lost none of its magic.’
Cheryl Markosky for BroadwayWorld reported: ‘Scutt’s glorious, wooded set on a traditional proscenium-arched stage resembles a child’s innocent toy theatre. As well as being thrilling, it also reminds us we will leave the theatre after the show and return to the real world. Along with the awe of this stunning revival, we’ll also take with us Sondheim’s thoughtful existential themes of loss, grief, the strength of storytelling and the importance of passing the right values onto our children.’
Time Out said: ‘what really sets this production apart is how it moves. Tom Scutt’s design fills the stage with trees, and the cast pop in and out of them so smoothly that it feels like you’re truly following them through a forest. One minute you’re watching the Baker by a trunk, the next Cinderella bursts out from behind another, dishevelled from running. The musical links between scenes, where the title refrain comes back round and characters appear one by one to deliver a single line, never missing a beat. You’re barely waiting for the story to move on, because you’re too busy watching who’ll pop out from behind the next tree. It’s a wordy, fiddly, nearly three-hour musical about fairytales, and somehow it flies by.’
4 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑
Dominic Maxwell of The Times mentioned: ‘Everyone impresses, but Kate Fleetwood (…) is stunningly good as the Witch. Grotesque but sardonic, she becomes ever more human as the night goes on.’
Reviews from the run at the Bridge Theatre
5 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑
The Times’ Clive Davis declared: ‘Jordan Fein … works wonders with a Stephen Sondheim show which has, in the past, risked sinking under the weight of its outsized ambitions.’ He found it ‘endowed with stunning set and costume designs by Tom Scutt and extraordinarily atmospheric lighting by Aideen Malone, is sharp, propulsive and often very funny.’
‘It’s a great production of a terrific show’ proclaimed Sarah Crompton at WhatsOnStage. Why is it terrific?: ‘There are familiar characters: Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, a Witch. But there’s also a Baker and his Wife, who long for a child, and the genius of the show is the way that the arrival of these unfamiliar figures with their real human feelings into the landscape of myth transforms the narrative, making it dangerously real and unpredictable.’
Time Out‘s Andrzej Lukowski described how ‘every second is filled with Sondheim’s presence: his lush, motif-saturated score of baroque nursery rhymes feels as vividly alive as the forest itself; his lyrics are sometimes hilariously bathetic, sometimes formally audacious, sometimes devastatingly poignant, often all three in a single song.’ He assured us: ‘Fein smashes it, largely thanks to exceptional casting.’ He rounded off: ‘It’s just great, really, a sublime production of a sublime musical with a sublime cast. Fein doesn‘t try to reinvent the wheel, so much as he acknowledges the importance of the wheel’s function and then goes ahead and makes the best looking, best crafted wheel you’ve ever seen. Pure magic.’
‘this is a much darker, sexier and more thrilling journey into the woods than I’ve ever experienced before’ revealed London Theatre‘s Marianka Swain. She analysed why it is so effective: ‘The sneakily profound existential themes come through potently: individual needs versus a collective society, how we make hard choices and process grief and guilt, the immense power of storytelling, and the values we pass down to our children. But this is also a transporting wonder – everything you could wish for and more.’
Aliya Al-Hassan for Broadway World called it: ‘A celebration of these twisted fairytales, this is a razor-sharp production full of heart, thoughtful design and wonderful performances. Pure theatrical magic.’
4 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑
The Guardian’s Arifa Akbar said: ‘its book is so clever and it is driven by the most gorgeous (if tricky) music? Jordan Fein’s production shimmers and shines with all the humour and pathos of these errant fairytale characters who misadventure into the woods, winding their rearranged stories around each other.’ She continued: ‘The actors are on blazing musical form too, hitting every difficult or dissonant note, and each performer finds a moment to excel.’ Her conclusion? ‘This production has none of the broadness or festive spirit of a Christmas show or panto, but the wonder and magic of both.’
The Telegraph’s Dominic Cavendish explained: ‘Fein initially positions his lead cast around a work-table, with Michael Gould markedly understated as the show’s Narrator. Then designer Tom Scutt reveals a woodland scene with tree-trunks so tangible and foliage so lush, you want in on the adventure, too.’
Louis Chilton for The Independent thought: ‘it’s no bad thing that director Jordan Fein has opted for a fairly down-the-line approach. There are no real surprises here, no radical reinvention in characterisation or staging. But it’s a production that really plays to the musical’s strengths: the big moments feel enormous.’ He pointed out: ‘It helps that so much of the production, particularly the set design, costume design (by Tom Scutt) and lighting (by Aideen Malone), is stellar: on a purely aesthetic level, this production is a thing of lush and arresting beauty.’
The Standard‘s Nick Curtis noted: ‘Fein assembles a terrific cast of new and established singing talents who give soaring voice to the witty lyrics and a score that hopscotches elegantly through recurring themes and motifs.’
3 stars ⭑⭑⭑
The Stage‘s Sam Marlowe was one of the least keen of the reviewers: ‘Fein’s production looks and sounds sumptuous, yet it’s a little like an expensive chocolate box, with nothing within that offers any fresh or surprising flavour.’ Another objection was, ‘the mechanics of the plotting feel slightly laborious’ but she admitted: ‘Still, it’s plush and polished, and moment by moment, there’s plenty to enjoy. And visually, it’s spellbinding.’
Combined Critics’ average rating 4.6⭑
Value rating 46 (Value Rating is a combination of the critics’ rating and the typical ticket price)
Into The Woods was at the Bridge Theatre until 30 May 2026 . It can be seen the Noël Coward Theatre until 9 January 2027..
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