Sweeney Todd, Demon Barber of Fleet Street, returns to London as a convict from Australia, bent on revenge against those who separated him from his wife and child. Back in London, he meets pie shop owner Mrs Lovett, and his arm soon twitches as he feels his old skills with a barber’s cut-throat razor returning. But this time the razor will be used to commit murder. His victims will end up as ingredients in Mrs Lovett’s pies. This grisly tale ended up as a highly praised Stephen Sondheim musical, which has been selected by Oxford Operatic Society for its autumn production. On my way to meet Oxford Operatic’s director Ed Blagrove at a rehearsal, I rather frivolously wonder: how would Mrs Lovett get round mod-ern food labelling regulations when describing the ingredients in her pies? “There’s a wonderful part of the set that’s got a price list on it,” Ed laughs. “It reads: ‘Beef, lamb, pork — and other’. I think the pies should go into the ‘other’ category. It would be a bit like these sausage rolls that advertise: ‘At least 12 per cent pork’. Maybe she’d get round the Government health guidelines that way!”

Luckily, Mrs Lovett isn’t too bother-ed about 21st-century regulations, because Ed has chosen to retain the show’s original Victorian setting.

“I know a lot of productions update Sweeney Todd, they put it in a differ-ent scenario,” Ed explains. “But for me it’s a story that’s very Victorian in its look. I do want to make it relevant for a modern audience, however, so we’re employing a Greek chorus: there are eight actors who will remain on stage throughout, and they’re in nondescript, almost modern dress. They will talk directly to the audience.”

The show should deliver a potent mix of shock-horror and dark humour. So, I ask Ed, are there going to be liberal sloshings of blood?

“We can’t use too much blood bec-ause there isn’t the time for someone to come on and mop it up. I’m working with Craig Smith, the great, local make- up artist, and we’re also doing a lot with red lighting. That way we’ll imply quite a lot of bloodshed without having to use gallons and gallons of it. I know the film had an 18 certificate, but that’s not the way we’re going with it.”

Alex Williams is playing the Demon Barber himself. Rather nervously, I ask him how skilled he is with a cut-throat razor.

“I’m getting quite deft with it. When we first got the razor it was fully sharp, and I very nearly sliced the throat of one of the chorus members for real. But it’s now been blunted, and it’s good to get a sense of the weight of it. I think I could probably shave a cheek now!”

Alex has arrived at the last minute for the rehearsal — the result of frustrating delays on First Great Western. How, I ask, does he psych himself up as he switches into his role?

“It takes some time. I often have to remove myself from the rehearsal hall for five or 10 minutes, to get myself into the right head space.

“Sweeney is a dark character on the surface, and anyone could play him brooding or angry the whole time. But he’s a character with many different levels, and mood swings within the space of just a few lines of dialogue.”

November 11-16
Tickets: 01865 305305
www.oxfordplayhouse.com