Into the Woods
★★★★☆ Dark whimsy
Edinburgh Academy (Venue 70): Wed 5 – Sun 16 Aug 2026
Review by Rebecca Mahar
Captivate Theatre takes on the Sondheim classic Into the Woods at their new venue down at Edinburgh Academy in Stockbridge, with a production that is charming and ambitious.
An enduringly popular musical from the notoriously challenging composer, Into the Woods follows the story of a Baker and his Wife, desperate to have a child; the Witch next door who cursed the Baker’s “family tree to always be a barren one” and who sets the pair a quest in order to break her curse; and the other inhabitants of this fairytale land whose stories are caught up along the way.
A scene from Captivate’s Into the Woods. Pic: Rosie Sco
The story quickly becomes a complicated one, with Cinderella and her Prince not having such a charmed life as you might imagine, Little Red (of Riding Hood fame) experiencing the terrifying inside of the Wolf, and Jack – well, Jack’s story of home invasion, theft, and murder has always been rather horrifying, but in this story he has to sell his best friend, a cow called Milky White (Chara Aitken and Lewi Thomas).
As they journey through the woods each of these characters is first entangled with the quest of the Baker and Baker’s Wife, then in a battle to save the kingdom from a giant bent on revenge, learning that fairytales don’t always have happy endings and that, as Little Red so succinctly states, nice is different than good.
knockout
The show itself is a knockout, one of Sondheim’s hits that it’s hard to find naysayers for. The lyrics clip along at blistering speed, the score is full of traps and dissonance, and the Captivate company rises well to its challenges.
While there is often somewhat of a lack of nuance in the performances, particularly in the first act, the marks are hit, the relationships clear, and director Colum Findlay has used the Edinburgh Academy space well, integrating its many entrances, exits, and levels in ways which enable characters to appear from unexpected places
Into the Woods from Captivate. Pic: Rosie Sco.
Musical direction from Luke Sprague is excellent overall, but the tendency to try and belt parts of a show fundamentally not designed for it has crept in, and contributes to the flattening of nuance.
There is a truism traditionally attributed to Sondheim about a singer needing to earn a sustain, and a direct quote about his preference for actors who sing rather than the other way around; some of the performers in this production could at times take note of both these ideas, rather than reaching for the hard power and straight tone that has flooded musical theatre composition and performance in recent years— adjustments that could allow their clear talent to realise its even greater potential in this type of show.
Nevertheless, the company pulls together to deliver a thoroughly enjoyable rendition of Into the Woods, with a framing device of the Narrator (Robbie McKellican) as a young boy mourning a mother who loved to tell stories, that lends additional poignancy to the whole.
standout duo
Kennedy Thompson as Jack and Speff Strachan as his Mother are a standout duo, with a delightful relationship that softens some of the sharp edges that can be found in the dialogue at first glance. Andrew Gardiner and Sarah Louise Donnelly are also well matched as the Baker and his Wife, and Gordon Stackhouse makes a wonderfully terrible Prince alongside Ewan Robertson as Rapunzel (Eve McNulty)’s Prince. Both Princes shine vocally throughout, showing richness reminiscent of their original counterparts, Robert Westenberg and Chuck Wagner.
Captivate’s Into the Woods. Pic Rosie Sco
The second act, after happily ever after, is where many of the performers come into their own. Megan Grace as the Witch brings down the house in Last Midnight, which is preceded by the quartet of Thomson, Amy Dougall (Little Red), Robyn Donahue (Cinderella), and Gardiner displaying tremendous diction and ensemble coherence in Your Fault.
Gardiner is the champion of diction throughout the show, never losing a shred of clarity, and demonstrating unity of technique, precision, and emotion across all aspects of his performance.
While there are some costume and makeup choices that could have been improved (not a lot of effort has gone into making either the Wicked Stepmother (Rae Crone) the Witch, or the Mysterious Man (Tyler Frye) look older, for instance, and Cinderella’s princess outfit in act 2 carries a whiff of Primark – a notable step down from her gorgeous and glittering act 1 ballgown), the visuals of the show are clearly in the same world, a place of both whimsy and darkness.
caught between Grimm and Disney
Whimsy and darkness are the two sides of the Into the Woods coin, caught between Grimm and Disney in a world that, despite its magic, is much more real than either. No one is only good or only bad: ask a wolf’s mother. Not everyone makes it out alive. But in the end, through it all, no one is alone.
Captivate has thoroughly succeeded in carrying the flame of this show’s emotional resonance, holding to the high bar of their own standard.
Running time: Two hours and 30 minutes (including one interval).
The Edinburgh Academy (Main Hall), 42 Henderson Row EH3 5BL (Venue 70).
Wednesday 5 – Sunday 16 August 2026.
Daily (not Tue 11, Sat 15): 2pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
Captivate website: www.captivatetheatre.com/
Facebook: @captivatetheatre
Instagram: @captivatetheatre
TikTok: @captivate_theatre
Amy Dougall as Little Red. Pic: Rosie Sco.
ENDS
