A Thought About Sweeney (Spoilers)

I thought of some more symbolism in the revival. In Act Two, the pouring of the blood from one bucket to another symbolizes a body falling from Sweeney's shop to the basement (that is, for all deaths except Fogg's and Mrs. Lovett's). I don't know if someone else posted this, but it's something I wanted to share.

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It has nothing to do with bodies falling.

Pouring blood into buckets has been used simply to symbolize killing on stage for years in many previous productions by many previous directors. It's a particular favorite at the Watermill Theatre (UK) where Doyle has worked for years. He and fellow director Edward Hall have incorporated into various productions through the years. I saw Hall use it two seasons ago in his ROSE RAGE which was a reduction of Shakespeare's HENRY VI plays into a single evening event which played here at The Duke on 42nd Street after having had acclaimed runs at the Watermill and the West End.

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Margo's right, of course. In the context of Sweeney Todd, blood is poured whenever a character dies (with one exception), regardless of whether or not they "fall down" It's nothing more than a stylistic way to represent death.

Updated On: 8/19/06 at 02:49 PM

Hard to be a Mrs. without the Mr!

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There's only one line referencing Mrs Lovett's husband:

Mrs Lovett: You know, it's seventeen years this Whitsun since my poor Albert passed on. I don't see why I shouldnt be married in white, do you?

As to what happened to him, it's not specified, and probably irrelevant.

**SPOILER**

Sweeney sits her on the chair, and slashes her repeatedly with his razor.

I'd also like more details on Mrs. Lovett's death. Please PM me as well.

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I KNOW its irrelevant, thats why its fun to speculate about it!

Was it just me, or did it seem that with each killing there was more blood to be poured in the bucket? Almost as if adding up the horrors of his crime and how much further he was going......