Jordan Fein’s masterpiece interpretation of this European fable draws from real life to subvert the idea of happily every after
January 6, 2026 12:59
American director Jordan Fein exploded onto the British stage with a triumphant revival of Fiddler on the Roof and will soon direct Arthur Miller’s Broken Glass at the Young Vic, the strange psychological thriller that is set in 1930s Brooklyn and yet is devastatingly informed by Kristallnacht.
In the meantime he is taking a break from Jewish themes by immersing himself in European folklore and fairytale. Yet it’s impossible to ignore that this masterpiece, which is inspired by goyishe fable, is gloriously reinvented by a Jewish creative team.
Never mind that some of the genre’s forest-dwelling characters add fuel to European antisemitism. Take the witch in Hansel and Gretel, a hooked-nosed woman living on the margins of society who is pushed into an oven by blameless Germans.
Moving on, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s take on the form combines multiple fairytales and intertwines them into one story. There is Jack and his bean stalk, the baker and his wife and desired young women Rapunzel and Cinderella who are each stalked by a prince. All find themselves in the eponymous woods looking for the thing that will make their life worth living.
This is also true of the witch played by Kate Fleetwood who has been a slam dunk for portraying terrifying women ever since her Lady Macbeth. Following her Cruella in the premiere of the musical adaptation of 101 Dalmatians in 2022, she now returns to the musical form as a pitiless, bitter witch who has the power to casually cause instant pain to a person’s groin merely by pointing to it with a gnarled finger.
The loins that have suffered more by her hand than any other belong to the baker, who has been cursed with childlessness ever since his dad nicked some beans from the witch’s garden. Enough plot. All the stories resolve so beautifully that first timers to this musical will be tempted to leave at the interval. But the genius of this show is how real life informs in a way that warns there is no such thing as happy every after.
A marvellous cast do complete justice to Sondheim’s score. Perhaps the rip-tide speed of Fein’s production might be reigned in a little. But in a season where giants have memorably stalked the stage in the RSC’s versions of The BFG and return in My Neighbor Totoro, the lighting design of Aideen Malone inventively delivers the desired effect by casting a massive shadow over the Bridge Theatre’s stage.
The evening is a constellation of talents. However if I had pick one standout performance it would be the incomparable Katie Brayben as the baker’s wife. Brayben’s past roles include a totally convincing Carole King in the bio musical Beautiful. Here her acting is shot through with a wry, urbane wit and is as nuanced as her singing, delivering one of the best musical productions currently on stage.
Into The Woods
Bridge Theatre
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