Is Sweeny Todd a true story?
Was Sweeney Todd based on a true story? Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the Victorian penny dreadful serial The String of Pearls (1846–47). Claims that Sweeney Todd was a historical person are strongly disputed by scholars, although possible legendary prototypes exist. ...
Was there a real Sweeney Todd?
Sweeney Todd is a well-known fictional character, a murderous barber who colludes with a cook to bake his victims into pies. There are many instances of the demon barber story being touted as a tale based in real-life events, but how true is that? Stuff You Missed in History Class Live Shows 2019!
Was Sweeney Todd a real person?
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the Victorian penny dreadful serial The String of Pearls (1846–47). Claims that Sweeney Todd was a historical person are strongly disputed by scholars, although possible legendary prototypes exist.
Is Sweeney Todd based off true events?
Sweeney Todd is a musical melodrama set in the 1840s based on an allegedly true tale. Released from prison for a crime he didn’t commit, Sweeney vows revenge on the world for the loss of his family. With the assistance of his unhinged landlady Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney reaps vengeance through his barbershop that is at once horrifying and exhilarating.
Who was Sweeney Todd based on?
This idea appeared around 1594 in Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus, as well as in Charles Dickens's novels The Pickwick Papers (1836–37) and Martin Chuzzlewit (1844). There is a common misconception that the original story was based on fact. We are happy to note that Sweeney Todd is not based on a true story!
How old is the Sweeney Todd story?
Although the Sweeney Todd story as we know it today first appeared between November 1846 and March 1847 in Edward Lloyd's (1815-1890) The People's Periodical and Family Library as an eighteen part serial entitled The String of Pearls: A Romance, the story drew upon and was heavily influenced by several previous well ...
What's the point of Sweeney Todd?
Sweeney Todd (skillfully portrayed by the ever-so talented, Johnny Depp), is about the man's thirst for bloody revenge of the way his wife and child were taken away from him by the evil, corrupt Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman was the perfect choice to play this character), who sentenced Todd (or Benjamin Barker, as he was ...
Is Sweeney Todd based on the Barber of Seville?
Singing Barbers: Although Stephen Sondheim was inspired by the Victorian penny dreadful serial The String of Pearls, Sweeney Todd owes a tip of the hat (or razor) to The Barber of Seville.
Was Sweeney Todd based on a true story?
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial The String of Pearls (1846–47). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend.
Did Mrs. Lovett poison Lucy?
A horrified Sweeney stops Mrs. Lovett's story, revealing himself to be Benjamin Barker. He is further grieved to learn from Mrs. Lovett that Lucy poisoned herself soon after what happened to her at the party, and that the Judge adopted Johanna as his own.
Why is Sweeney Todd controversial?
I've never understood why Sweeney Todd is considered "controversial." The incidents in the plot may be lurid, but the show's themes are primarily injustice, morality and greed, as Howard Sherman pointed out. More important, it's a wonderful, scary story — what Sweeney Todd is really about is having a good time.
What happens to Johanna at the end of Sweeney Todd?
In the final scene, Johanna, Anthony and two policemen encounter Toby in the bakehouse, mindlessly turning the meat grinder, surrounded by the corpses of Todd, Lucy, Mrs. Lovett, and Turpin. Presumably she elopes with Anthony after the events of the show.
Who kills Sweeney Todd?
Barker's return to London under the new alias Sweeney Todd sees him united with former neighbour Mrs. Lovett, a meat pie maker and shop owner. Revenge, the central theme of Sweeney Todd, is not only apparent in its titular character but in others, too. For example, Toby kills Sweeney in the final scene out of revenge.
Was Mrs Lovett a real person?
Lovett is a fictional character appearing in many adaptations of the story Sweeney Todd. Her first name is most commonly referred to as Nellie, although she has also been referred to as Amelia, Margery, Maggie, Sarah, Shirley, Wilhelmina and Claudetta.
Who was the best Sweeney Todd?
1) Johnny Depp was remarkable Depp's performance in Sweeney Todd was a stellar sight to behold. He was able to transform into a monster transfixed on vengeance that combined his mental anguish with enchanting singing.
Why is Sweeney Todd an 18?
Extreme violence, a disturbing dark ethic, and a bloodthirsty and nauseous story about cannibalism. Not for young children.
Why is Sweeney Todd an 18?
Extreme violence, a disturbing dark ethic, and a bloodthirsty and nauseous story about cannibalism. Not for young children.
How old is Johanna in Sweeney Todd?
Johanna: 18, Sweeney's daughter.
When was Sweeney Todd written?
Sweeney Todd's first known appearance in print was in an 1846 "penny dreadful," a type of horror tale of the era published in serial form, The People's Periodical.
Who kills Sweeney Todd?
Barker's return to London under the new alias Sweeney Todd sees him united with former neighbour Mrs. Lovett, a meat pie maker and shop owner. Revenge, the central theme of Sweeney Todd, is not only apparent in its titular character but in others, too. For example, Toby kills Sweeney in the final scene out of revenge.
What is Sweeney Todd's story?
The character of Sweeney Todd originated in The String of Pearls, a penny dreadful by an unknown author , first published in England in 1846–47. The basic plot will be familiar to fans of the musical and movie: a barber and a baker collude to murder people and bake their remains into pies. Later adaptations changed the story significantly. The original story contains a young woman named Johanna, who has no relation to Sweeney Todd. In the musical, she’s his daughter. Also, unlike in the musical, the original Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett are business partners only, never lovers. They’re thieves motivated by evil and greed, but not revenge.
Who published Sweeney Todd?
A newspaper publisher served jail time for libel for publishing an unsubstantiated rumor about cannibalism. In 1993, controversial author Peter Haining published Sweeney Todd: The Real Story of the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
What was Todd's return to London?
After being exiled to Australia for 15 years on bogus charges, Todd returns to London, seeking a reunion with his family—and then revenge. This is the basis for Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s stage musical, which Tim Burton made into a movie in 2007.
When was Sweeney Todd first published?
Although it was first published in 1846, during the Victorian era, the original Sweeney Todd story takes place in the earlier Georgian era: 1785. I remember at least one character having a photo in the 2007 movie, which would have been impossible in 1785.
Who is Sweeney Todd's daughter?
The original story contains a young woman named Johanna, who has no relation to Sweeney Todd. In the musical, she’s his daughter. Also, unlike in the musical, the original Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett are business partners only, never lovers. They’re thieves motivated by evil and greed, but not revenge.
Is Sweeney Todd based on a true story?
It’s not based on a true story. Within a year or two of its publication, other writers began adapting The String of Pearls, claiming it was based on fact. However, there’s never been any historical evidence for Sweeney Todd’s existence or his crimes.
Is Sweeney Todd a Victorian?
It’s not set in the Victorian era. Queen Victoria reigned from 1837 until 1901, but some people call any story set a century or two ago “Victorian.” This is an easy mistake to make, especially if you never majored in English lit or European history. Although it was first published in 1846, during the Victorian era, the original Sweeney Todd story takes place in the earlier Georgian era: 1785. I remember at least one character having a photo in the 2007 movie, which would have been impossible in 1785. So, scriptwriters either didn’t know the year in the original version, or they changed it.
Sweeney Todd and The String of Pearls
Before looking at who or what the tale of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, was based on, let’s look a little more closely at the first literary rendering of the story in the 1840s.
The Historical Sweeney Todd?
Given the emergence of these common motifs of cannibalistic chefs making pies out of human flesh in seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth-century England and France, we might ask if Sweeney Todd was based on a real-life person.
Victorian Anxieties
What we can be sure of, though, is the psychology that made Sweeney Todd’s story so popular at the time. In the first half of the nineteenth-century English society had profoundly changed.
Sources
Peter Haining, Sweeney Todd: The Real Story of the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (London, 1993).
What is the metaphor for Sweeney Todd?
Prince's scenic metaphor for Sweeney Todd was a 19th-century iron foundry moved from Rhode Island and reassembled on the stage, which critic Jack Kroll aptly described as "part cathedral, part factory, part prison, that dwarfed and degraded the swarming denizens of the lower orders.".
When was Sweeney Todd's murderous barber's story made into a play?
An expanded edition appeared in 1850, an American version in 1852, a new play in 1865. By the 1870s, Sweeney Todd was a familiar character to most Victorians.
What percentage of Sweeney Todd is set to music?
Music proved to be a key element behind the impact of Sweeney Todd on audiences. Over eighty percent of the production is set to music, either sung or underscoring dialogue. The score is one vast structure, each individual part meshing with others for the good of the entire musical machine.
Where does Todd enter the meat pie shop?
Leaving Anthony, Todd enters a meat pie shop on Fleet Street, where the owner, the slatternly widow Mrs. Lovett, laments the scarcity of meat and customers ("Worst Pies in London").
Is Sweeney Todd based on a true story?
It is based on the 1973 play of the same name by Christopher Bond . Sweeney Todd opened on Broadway in 1979 and in the West End in 1980. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical and Olivier Award for Best New Musical. It has since had numerous revivals as well as a film adaptation .
Who is Daniel O'Higgins?
Alone with Todd, Pirelli drops his Italian accent and reveals that he is Daniel O'Higgins, Benjamin Barker's former assistant; he knows Todd's true identity and demands half his income for life. Todd overpowers and kills O'Higgins by slitting his throat ("Pirelli's Death" and "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" – reprise 3).
Who drops ashes into a shallow grave?
The citizens of London, who act as a Greek chorus throughout the play, drop a body bag and pour ashes into a shallow grave. Sweeney Todd rises forth ("The Ballad of Sweeney Todd"), and introduces the drama.
Where was Sweeney Todd born?
Sweeney Todd was born on October 26, 1756, in Brick Lane. The house in which the child first breathed the fetid air of the East London slums is not known, but it was probably near Spitalfields. His troubled, violent early life mirrors that of more recent killers. Todd's mother, not 20, scratched a living winding silk.
What is Sweeney Todd's catchphrase?
Sweeney Todd's name is seen in Victorian 'penny dreadful' newspapers and then 19thcentury melodrama, complete with his own catchphrase, "See how I polish 'em off!" In modern times, the Demon Barber's tale has been adapted first as a Stephen Sondheim musical and now a Tim Burton film starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter.
How old was Sweeney Todd when he walked out of Newgate?
The Sweeney Todd who walked out of Newgate in autumn 1775 was a strapping 19-year-old with a grudge. The years had made him morose and resentful and he would soon repay London for the violence it had visited upon him, many times over. With his new skills, Todd made a good living as a street corner barber.
How much did Sweeney Todd pay for the shop?
Todd paid £125 for the lease on the dilapidated shop and advertised his dual role of barber and surgeon with a white pole striped in red. The words "Sweeney Todd, Barber" were painted in fat yellow letters over the door.
How long was Todd in prison?
The boy's life abruptly changed again in 1770, when Todd was jailed for five years for petty theft. His crime is not recorded, but he entered Newgate prison aged 14 feeling ever more bitter.
What happened to Sweeney Todd's neck?
He was flipped out of the chair and into the cellar below. If his neck was not broken by the fall onto the basement's stone floor , Sweeney Todd, the barber, would soon slit his throat with a razor.
Where did Todd go to hide his thumbscrews?
To escape his parents' brawling, he lingered in the Tower's museum, where thumbscrews, racks and other macabre tools were displayed to discourage citizens from dissent.
Sweeney Todd and The String of Pearls
- Before looking at who or what the tale of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, was based on, let’s look a little more closely at the first literary rendering of the story in the 1840s. The tale of Sweeney Todd was first published in work called The String of Pearls: A Domestic Romance, which appeared in a serialized format in the Penny D...
The Historical Sweeney Todd?
- Given the emergence of these common motifs of cannibalistic chefs making pies out of human flesh in seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth-century England and France, we might ask if Sweeney Todd was based on a real-life person. Several theories have been put forward to suggest that he might have been. For instance, in the 1800s, the chief of the Parisian police, Jos…
Victorian Anxieties
- What we can be sure of, though, is the psychology that made Sweeney Todd’s story so popular at the time. In the first half of the nineteenth-century English society had profoundly changed. Hundreds of thousands of people had left their villages in the countryside and migrated to the towns. Here, rather than buying bread and meat from their village’s baker or butcher, people wer…
Sources
- Peter Haining, Sweeney Todd: The Real Story of the Demon Barber of Fleet Street(London, 1993). J. Robert Bradgate and Geraint G. Howells, ‘Food Law in the United Kingdom’, in Food, Drug, Cosmetic Law Journal, Vol. 46, No. 3 (May, 1991), pp. 447–466.