Sweeney Todd: Theatre Noir

Slasher musical? Yes. It’s horrific—the blades and blood flow indicate that—but it’s easy to be deceived by gore. I see past the smoke and mirrors to find a darker element than mindless killing.

The forces of evil are too well cultivated to cheapen it with a word like horror.

Horror is bloody. It gives blood a character all of its own. Blood is the glue for the horror genre.

Noir isn’t like that. Blood isn’t primary to the storytelling process. Spilling it is just an outcome. The extra character on the Sweeney stage is revenge. Revenge is stickier and thicker, binding our protagonist’s actions to the dialogue, actions, and intentions. The blood moves to second place. Revenge takes charge and promises this story its happy-ever-after.

That’s why the audience senses justice will be served. It’s a weird kind of justice. The one who caused so much pain comes face-to-face with the pain of their own. It’s a comeuppance story without police or the law’s involvement.

Okay, I know, I know. I glossed over a good chunk of detail to get to my point sooner. I just wanted to take a moment to appreciate the foundation of this dark tale.

Let’s move on.

Everyone needs to earn a living, and after a long stint stint in jail, Sweeney has his only skill from which to draw. He’s excellent with a razor and a close shave. He opens a barber shop above a bakery and befriends the struggling store owner below. They make a deal to fill pastries with an alternate meat source. A few innocent men come by to visit Sweeney for a clean shave. Certain throats meet the edge of the twisted barber’s shaving razor while doing it, and pie profits increase. The local gentry makes a good filling. Besides, no one in the lower classes of society believes the gentry is that innocent, right? The pies are tasty, and the bakery becomes successful and sought after.

Opportunity presents itself when a person of interest settles into the barber chair for his turn at receiving a shave. He is the one who once imprisoned and tortured the one with the blade. It will be a glorious death, for sure. It has to be. It’s been building to this moment.

Will Todd find satisfaction? Will the audience support his actions?

That’s why it’s a fabulous example of noir. It turns an audience. If given the chance, many of us would love to be in a position of power while confronting our nemesis with a judgment of our choosing.

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Another fine example of broody noir is my novel SEETHINGS. It’s not about blood. Sexual frustration drives the narrative. When the time is right, sexual salvation quenches the raging fire, but it comes at a cost. The trade for pleasure is pain. Five victims are found on the nights of great thunderstorms.

The challenge is similar to that of Sweeney Todd. I aim to get the audience to believe in a skewed kind of justice by offering a suitable counterpoint that justifies the protagonist’s actions.

–Michael

‘Forman’s writing style is artful, with the protagonist Mitchell’s warped thought processes masterfully exposed. The author has a powerful and vivid command of language and his word pictures are stark and disturbingly real.’

Linda J Bettenay, author of ‘Secrets Mothers Keep’ and ‘Wishes For Starlight’