Into The Woods

Into The Woods

Into the Woods

In summer 2010 the Open Air Theatre is set to welcome audiences to a vast array of high quality shows, from “The Crucible” to “A Comedy of Errors” and amongst them is the latest staging of the Stephen Sondheim classic “Into the Woods”. With an impressive cast following it to Regent’s Park, the show will provide London theatre audiences with the perfect opportunity to witness a stand out show without being confined indoors.
And to prove this, not only have they employed the performing talents of West End regulars like Hannah Waddingham and Helen Dallimore, “Into the Woods” will also be featuring the (pre-recorded) voice of Dame Judi Dench. The result will undoubtedly be a spectacular show featuring people’s favourite characters from the Brothers Bloom and providing a host of great songs.

Sondheim first brought the musical to the stage in the 1980s and before Broadway and the West End could witness the fairy-tale inspired classic, residents of San Diego got a first look as it premiered at its Old Globe Theatre. It would eventually land in the West End in 1990 and became an immediate success story, bringing in various awards and nominations and leaving the stage open for future revivals. The 2010 version at the Open Air Theatre is the latest such edition of the show and is likely to remind London audiences of the magic they experienced back in the early 90s.

One of the many stories that are brought forth for “Into the Woods” is “Jack and the Beanstalk” and as a result, Dench will be lending her voice to the role of the Giant and with various other fairy tales added the mix, it leaves room for Waddinham and Dallimore to take on the roles of the witch and Cinderella respectively.

Dench is perhaps best known for her screen roles in the likes of “Shakespeare in Love”, “Iris”, “The Chronicles of Riddick”, “Mrs Henderson Presents”, the television series “As Time Goes By” and every James Bond movie since “Goldeneye”. However, her stage roles have earned her particular acclaim over the years, including two previous stints at the Open Air Theatre, plus the Donmar’s season at Wyndham’s Theatre in which she performed in “Madame de Sade”.

Meanwhile, Waddinham will be familiar to those who witnessed the Monty Python musical “Spamalot” and Dallimore to those who saw “Wicked” when she became the first to portray Glinda in the West End.

Into the Woods appears at the Open Air Theatre within Regent’s Park from Wednesday 11th August 2010 (previews from Thursday 5th August 2010) until Saturday 11th September 2010.