Book By James Lapine

Music & Lyrics By Stephen Sondheim

Dr GSS Zipprodt's caravan breezed into the the Paget Rooms, Penarth in September 2022. The brainchild of our director Shane Rose-Goodsir, this production of Into The Woods had been waiting in the wings for sometime and would have been performed before Sondheim's death but for the embargo on theatre due to the pandemic.
However, the hiatus gave even more time for Shane to hone his thoughts and he brought to the stage a riot of colour and imagination to this tricky musical. Inspired by Brothers Grimm, Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton he created a dark yet funny and poignant production.
The cast was an ensemble of talent, so it is not possible to single out anyone in particular to mention but the commitment to telling the story was there from the very start. It was great to see some faces we had not seen for a while and also to welcome some fresh, new talent to the Concept stage. It was obvious from out front that the Company was working extremely well together. One of the main concepts in the show was the use of puppetry and this was a wonderful inventive addition to the story telling which added humour and interest throughout.

The set design beautifully captured the travelling troupe as if they had appeared straight out of a Perrault fairy tale. Costume added to this and the eclectic mix of styles added to the feel of a troupe timeless in their work.

Chris Fossey was again our Musical Director who led the fully acoustic orchestra from the grand piano in the pit. Laura ensured the sound balance was perfect and Ffion with Kevin designed the effective lighting and operation on the night.

As this was our first production after the pandemic break, spirits were high both on stage and off, and our audiences turned out in good numbers proving we still have the support for our productions which is a great relief to us all. This was a fun production to be involved in and has reignited our desire to keep delivering quality productions.