Synopsis


I've only seen the show twice, if I get stuff wrong please email me and tell me.


The show opens as a middle-aged man (Todd) and a youngish man (Anthony) come onto the stage, discussing what they've just been through. Anthony is a sailor, his fleet found Todd floating on a raft in the middle of the ocean and picked him up and returned him to London. Todd and Anthony are now friends. They each go their seperate ways, Anthony imploring Todd to keep in touch with him.

Todd returns to a place that is familiar to him, a pie shop with uninhabited quarters above. He is forced into a pie and a conversation with the owner of the worst pie shop in London, Mrs Lovett. Eventually she deduces his story - Sweeney Todd is Benjamin Barker, the former tenant of the rooms above. Benjamin was married to a woman named Lucy, and they had one daughter named Johanna. The local judge (Judge Turpin) and the Beadle were in love with his wife, and the judge had him transported to Australia for life so he could get at Lucy. According to Mrs Lovett, Lucy then took poison, and the Judge took possession of Johanna. Todd is furious and swears revenge. Then Mrs Lovett produces his old razor, in which he takes a sudden delirious passion in, and decides to re-open as a barber.

Meanwhile Johanna has grown up in the custody of Judge Turpin. As Anthony wanders the streets, he happens to hear her singing. Entranced, he watches her in her window singing. Then just as they meet, Judge Turpin and the Beadle return and forbid him from coming near Johanna again. Anthony begins thinking of a plan to steal Johanna. As he leaves, Judge Turpin starts eyeing Johanna lustfully. She runs inside timidly.

Todd and Mrs Lovett, in order to boost their business, are about to compete their skills against the supposed "Best hairdresser-barber-toothpuller in London", Signor Adolpho Pirelli. Whilst Pirelli diplays his skills with a lot of ridiculous song and dance, Todd finishes his shave and tooth-pulling quickly, effectively and professionally, winning £5 and the crowd's respect. Todd offers a free shave to the Beadle, who heartily accepts.


The Judge, to his horror, finds himself becoming more and more obsessed with Johanna. In a climax of passion he offers Johanna his hand in marriage. Johanna is horrified. Meanwhile Todd is impatiently awaiting the Beadle's visit & impending death. Anthony bursts into the shop, talking non-stop about Johanna. It is revealed that the girl he is in love with is actually Todd's daughter. Todd agrees to Anthony's plan of him stealing Johanna from the Judge, hiding out at the barber shop and then leaving for Paris.

As he leaves, Todd is given a surprise visit by Signor Pirelli (or Daniel O'Higgins) and Tobias, his young assistant. When Pirelli reveals that he knows Todd's past and threatens to blackmail him, Todd kills him - the first victim of the razor. Mrs Lovett convinces Tobias that Pirelli has left without him, and recruits him as an assistant in the pie shop. Then, as Todd and Mrs Lovett are debating what to do with Pirelli's body, Mrs Lovett has the idea of mincing it and making it into pie meat. Todd heartily agrees and from then on business flourishes in both the barbershop and the pie shop. Mrs Lovett is now famous for her delicious meat pies.

At the Beadle's suggestion, Judge Turpin pays a visit to Todd's barber shop to look his best on his return to Johanna. Todd is ecstatic at finally having one of his planned victims - he raises his razor to slash at the pale rosy skin of righteousness - when Anthony bursts in with Johanna. Judge Turpin is furious, threateds to lock Johanna up where nobody will find her and refuses to ever return to Todd's barber shop. Todd is devestated and furious at Anthony.

Todd and Mrs Lovett's business is booming. As Anthony wanders the streets dejectedly, he goes past Fogg's Asylum for the Mentally Deranged, where he sees Johanna. Madly he tries to force his way in to get her, and is almost arrested. He returns to Todd's barber shop to seek advice. Todd gives him instructions on how to act like a wigmaker, who would get the hair for their wigs from the mental asylums. Anthony carries out his plan, killing Fogg in the process.

Mrs Lovett becomes increasingly more infatuated with Todd, who, to her disappointment, doesn't return her devotion. They are repeatedly plagued by an old begger woman who hangs around this particular corner of London begging for alms. As Todd sends Anthony out to get Johanna from the asylum, he writes a letter to Judge Turpin saying that Anthony is out to steal Johanna and will return to his parlour, in an attempt to lure the Judge to his barbershop.

As Tobias becomes more and more inquisitive and curious about Pirelli's disappearance, Mrs Lovett locks him in the bakehouse letting him make the pies to take his mind off it. The Beadle turns up at the pie shop, saying that there had been complaints about the smell of the bakehouse. Mrs Lovett, fearful to show him the cellar where the bodies are kept, makes up a bunch of random stories until Todd returns home, where he takes the Beadle to the barber shop and kills him. The body rolls down a chute into the cellars - but the Beadle is still alive, though barely. He staggers up the stairs into the bakehouse, where Tobias is happily sitting eating pies. At the hideous apparition of the bloodied Beadle, Tobias screams and races down into the cellar to escape.

Worried about the boy, Mrs Lovett goes searching for him. Todd reluctantly follows, he wanted to wait in his parlour for the Judge. Anthony and the rescued Johanna return to his parlour, where Anthony instructs Johanna to wait. As she is waiting, the beggar woman comes up the stairs. Johanna hides. Then Todd comes racing back when he sees the Judge coming, and unable to get the beggar woman to leave, he kills her with his razor. The Judge enters, and Todd convinces him to have a shave. He kills the Judge. Johanna emerges from her hiding place, as Todd re-enters. Todd (not reciognising her) is about to kill her when Mrs Lovett screams from below. Johanna escapes as Todd rushes down to see what's the problem.

The Judge was still alive, clutching at Mrs Lovett's skirts. She forced him off and killed him properly. Now down in the cellars, Todd gets a good look at the beggar woman. Then, with a cry of anguish, he realises that the beggar woman was in fact Lucy - his wife!! He had killed her. As he comes to terms with this, he realises that Mrs Lovett had lied to him about Lucy's death. He corners her, and she tells him he would have been happier without a wife than with a half-crazed beggar woman. He considers this for a second, and then, his homicidal rage coming to the surface, takes Mrs Lovett in his arms and promises her his love. They dance closer and closer to the oven, and finally Todd flings her into the roaring flames.

As Todd kneels on the ground cradling his cold Lucy in his arms, Tobias emerges slowly, his hair completely white. He mutters nonsense for a bit - clearly his trip to the cellar and the body storeroom of Todd has driven him insane. He sees Todd's razor on the ground, and draws it across Todd's throat as the police, Anthony and Johanna enter, horrified.