INTO THE WOODS to Play Theatre du Chatelet in April

Next up at Theatre du Chatelet is Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods, which will run April 1-12 . The production will star Kimy Mc Laren (Cinderella), Leslie Clack (Narrator), Nicholas Garrett (Baker), Christine Buffle (Baker's wife), Beverley Klein (The witch), Pascal Charbonneau (Jack), Rebecca de Pont Davies (Jack's mother), Francesca Jackson (Little Red Riding Hood), David Curry (Rapunzel's Prince), Damian Thantrey (Steward) and Orchestre de chambre de Paris.

"Let's go for a walk in the woods...". Structured around the famous essay by the psychoanalyst, Bruno Bettelheim,Stephen Sondheim gives us his interpretation of various fairy tales: Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Magic Beanstalk... However, the audiences at Le Châtelet, who are now beginning to familiarise themselves with the works of the Broadway master of the musical, already know that Sondheim will not necessarily be taking it back down the nostalgic lanes of childhood.

All these tales are played out in the forest, a traditional setting for age-old feats that metaphorically represents, in this case, a society in which people of various ages, origins and conditions are encouraged to rub shoulders and try and live together. There is no moralising stance in this work, but the author casts a human eye on our illusory quest for happiness, where humour and pastiche are ever present in the shape of songs inspired by nursery rhymes and tales in which we find the inimitable hallmark of Sondheim.

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