'Into The Woods' review — this sublime Olivier-winning revival is utterly magical

Read our review of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Into The Woods, now in performances at the Noël Coward Theatre to 9 January 2027.

Summary

• Into The Woods transfers to the Noel Coward Theatre in the West End
• Jordan Fein's Olivier Award-winning production retains its magic
• Kate Fleetwood gives a dynamo performance as the Witch
• John Dagleish and Laura Pitt-Pulford have gorgeous chemistry as the Baker and his wife

After collecting the Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival earlier this year, Jordan Fein’s production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s sublime fairytale mashup Into The Woods has travelled a path from London Bridge to St Martin’s Lane without any of its magic wearing off along the way – and adds some terrific performances from new cast members to the potion.

The Narrator (Michael S. Siegel), an American-accented professorial type, takes to the stage in a nervous fashion as he introduces the cast of characters. The archetypes include a Witch, Cinderella, Jack, Red Ridinghood, and the childless Baker and Baker’s Wife (the latter pair are Sondheim and Lapine’s invention). Yet they all feel like individuals in Fein’s staging, which fully embraces the piece’s mordant sense of humour and abundance of human quirks.

It’s such a busy musical with its profuseness of complex rhymes and rhythms, criss-crossing storylines, and general moving parts. But Fein maintains a brisk pace and sense of controlled chaos throughout the first half, helmed by the mission of collecting the items required so that the Baker couple can have a baby. Then the happy-ever-afters give way to a high body count in the second act.

Under Mark Aspinall’s musical direction, acting and singing come together seamlessly. Kate Fleetwood, reprising her role as the Witch, exudes power laced with dry humour and cheekbones that could cut tree trunks. A forest creature exasperated by these hopelessly “nice” mortals, she seethes with frustration in her powerhouse rendition of “Last Midnight”. It’s a true dynamo performance.

There’s a gorgeous, lived-in chemistry between John Dagleish and Laura Pitt-Pulford as the Baker and Baker’s Wife, who have been married for some time and find themselves irked by each other’s little habits but still love one other dearly and are delighted by the joy of finding the spark again in “It Takes Two”. With his shock of hair and marvellously expressive face, Dagleish is adorable as the Baker and shows that he, despite being the least showy of the principal roles as written, is in fact in many ways the piece’s primary protagonist.

Equally ideal casting is Pitt-Pulford's Baker’s Wife, who is such an appealing “everywoman” that she manages to be deeply empathetic even when being conniving. Her vocals have such an open-hearted purity and her rendition of “Moments in the Wood” makes a convincing case that an affair can in fact be a good thing for a marriage.

Simbi Akande is a pensive Cinderella who never particularly wanted the prince, just the escape from her stepfamily. Gracie McGonigal’s Red Ridinghood (returning from the Bridge) is like a bloodthirsty Hayley Mills who knows where the bodies are buried. And Keith Ramsay is highly endearing as young Jack devoted to his cow Milky White, represented by a raggedy lo-fi puppet, and has an engaging rapport with Julie Jupp as his long-suffering mother.

It is, of course, also enchanting to look at. Tom Scutt’s set is initially set against a large table that opens up to reveal the lush verdancy of the forest itself, a place of freedom from conventional mores yet deeply sinister. Aideen Malone’s Olivier-winning otherworldly lighting illuminates the woods as a living, breathing space, further accentuated by Roland Horvath’s video design. They come together to hint at the looming presence of the Giant (voiced by veteran Valda Aviks, who also plays Granny) that dominates the second half.

There are lovely painterly references in the way in which Rapunzel (Fiona Finsbury) in her tower is framed like a Renaissance Madonna, and the Witch post-transformation resembles one of James McNeill Whistler’s women in white in her nightgown and long hair (she’s then styled as more of an action heroine for the second act). There’s also abundant campery with the Princes’ little jerkins and 1970s tennis player-style hair. It’s difficult not to succeed in these roles and Matthew Seadon-Young and Lucas Koch are definite crowd-pleasers.

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.

Into The Woods is at the Noël Coward Theatre to 9 January 2027. Book Into The Woods tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Photo credit: Into The Woods (Photos by Johan Persson)