In his early days, the demon barber of Fleet Street terrorised areas of popular entertainment, such as Broadway and the West End. More recently he has appealed to a high-brow clientele, whether at the Lyric Opera of Chicago or New York's Avery Fisher Hall, or the Royal Opera House in London and Opera North in Leeds.

Sondheim's Sweeney Todd has become the archetypal in-between work - more than a musical, less than an opera. It is the ideal piece for managements to put on if they are concerned about having an exclusive image and want to attract a wider crowd, so it fits the policy at the Southbank Centre nicely.