Blood, guts, and fancy haircuts

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by Hugh Wheeler
Directed by Bob Baker
Starring Réjean Cournoyer, Jeremy Baumung, John Ullyatt, Andrew Stelmack, Nicole Robert, Roman Pfob, Douglas MacLeod, Jeff Irving, Kaylee Harwood, and Elizabeth Beeler
Runs February 6 – March 7 (showtimes vary)
Citadel Theatre (Maclab 9828 101A Ave.)
$60–95 at www.citadeltheatre.com

The tragic tale of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is splattered with blood, tainted by murder, drenched in revenge, and for actor John Ullyatt, it even has a touch of déjà vu.

After 15 years, Ullyatt is reprising his portrayal of Beadle, Judge Turpin’s sidekick in Stephen Sondheim’s Tony Award winning musical. With a natural fondness for the show, he was instantly drawn to the opportunity of being involved in the production, keen to find out how this experience would differ from his first encounter.

“I wasn’t going to start from scratch; I don’t think I can erase my memory that much, or erase what I’d done the first time,” Ullyatt explains. “I feel a little bit different and it’s got to be. It’s a different cast, situation, designers, director, everything. [But] it doesn’t stop being fun. I love this play; it’s so good.”

Not only is he excited for the chance to once again face the wrath of Sweeney Todd, but Ullyatt, still a freelance artist, is grateful for his continued involvement with the Citadel Theatre.

“I’m pretty lucky that I still get along with everybody here, and everybody seems to still like me, so that’s pretty good,” he says of his attachment to the Edmonton theatre scene.

For those who’ve read the "musical" descriptor and written off the show as just another bit of fluff, audiences will be in for a shock. The protagonist, Benjamin Barker — or Sweeney Todd as he becomes known — was sent into exile and imprisoned in Australia for 15 years by a crooked judge who was after his wife. Upon returning to London, he and his newly acquired companion Mrs. Lovett wreak havoc on Fleet Street while Todd slowly inches closer to exacting his revenge.

While Ullyatt hasn’t actually seen any of the special effects at work, he confirms rumours that the gore associated with Sweeney’s famous barbershop chair will not disappoint.

“I think it’s probably just as hard as in the movies. This is all just right in front of people, but the good thing is that Sweeney Todd slitting someone’s throat is going to be probably at the very least 15 feet away from somebody, and at the most, 100 feet, so you can hide a lot,” he notes.

Even though Ullyatt’s character isn’t the one slitting throats in the musical, Beadle is, without a doubt, a questionable human being.

“I was the guy who held down [Sweeney’s wife] while she was raped [...] [He’s] a greasy guy who will do anything to get ahead in life [...] It’s taken years and years, and I don’t think he’ll ever get in good with the Judge, but hope springs eternal. His scruples are pretty low, [and] I think he’ll do pretty much anything to anybody, for any reason whatsoever,” he says of his diabolical other half.

Not known for his antagonistic portrayals, Ullyatt was surprised at how simple the transition was.

“This is probably the most nefarious character [I’ve played]. I think there’s a little bit of a devious person living inside of all us. So I find it easy to access it [...] I don’t get a lot of opportunities to play really greasy guys,” he recalls.

Aside from exercising his unethical side, for Ullyatt, the show also showcases the best of what theatre has to offer its audience.

“I feel that the show is so operatic in its scope [...] [It’s] melodrama in the best sense of the term in that it’s intense and large, but it’s full of heart and reality. I think theatre can, in its size, be huge, but still be realistic,” he said.

Blood, gore, and catchy tunes aside, audience members are invited to join the cast as they continue to work through the deeper meaning behind the barber’s rampage.

“This guy is doing the only thing he could possibly do and then I think we’re still unravelling what exactly it means,” he explains.

“Sweeney could be any one of us, it could the guy beside you. Anyone of us could snap and become a serial killer. It’s in all of us. I think that’s what we’re saying. And you have to be careful of that and respectful of your revenge fantasies. At the end of the day, in this story, Sweeney gets the worst of it.”