REVIEW: Lovett, BoonDog Theatre, EdFringe 2025 ★★★★★

Fleshing out the backstory and inner life of Sweeney Todd’s partner in crime Mrs Lovett, Boondog Theatre presents a one woman show with a whole lot of bite. Tackling religion, gender, and morality, Lovett forces a consideration of what, if anything, separates us from animals. 

The lights go down – it’s dark in the Cellar, the darkest I’ve ever experienced a Fringe blackout. A scraping noise cuts through the darkness, setting your teeth on edge. And as the lights come up, Eleanor Lovett stares out into your eyes, sharpening her butcher’s knife. She takes us on a journey through her life, the loss of her father, her time across the river where her mother made a living as a sex worker, her complicated relationship to God, her marriage of convenience – no, gesellschaft (companionship) – to Mr Lovett, and her first meeting with Sweeney. Far more than a laundry list of traumas, this production is a complex exploration of the impact of religiously justified misogyny on the most vulnerable in society, and the profound impact of loss upon individual identity and morality. It paints a portrait of a woman with a fractured identity, grappling with matters far larger than herself, and negotiating her place in the world.

Writer and performer Lucy Roslyn delivers an entirely disarming performance, precise, committed, and unflinching. She catches our attention, drawing us in closer and closer until we couldn’t move or even look away, even if she decided to pounce. The writing was inspired, seemingly effortlessly drawing disparate threads of metaphor together to snare the audience firmly into Eleanor’s perspective on humanity, fully immersing us in her inner world. Lovett is artfully directed by Jamie Firth, who has a firm grasp on atmosphere and keen knowledge of stagecraft. He uses a butcher’s block, a single knife, a cup, and a hunk of bread to create Eleanor’s London, leaving room for Roslyn’s masterful performance to breathe in the empty space. 

Confrontational, enthralling, and richly detailed, Lovett does not allow you to look away, even as the final gory image unfurls before your eyes. This production is one that you can really sink your teeth into.

Drink recommendation: A long, measured gulp of communion wine.

You can catch Lovett at Cellar at Pleasance Courtyard until the 25th August at 12:30 (60 mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.