Mrs Lovett famously suggested cannibalism to Sweeney Todd as a solution to how to dispose of a body. But butchers are not born… They are made. Set before those events, discover what ultimately leads her to turn his victims into pies.
The daughter of a Winchester Goose sex-worker and a dockland Whaler, Eleanor was sandwiched between two codes: religion and butchery. She learns that flesh is currency here, whether it is butchering whales on the docks or selling sex in the alleyways. After her mother’s body is stolen from Crossbones Graveyard and sold to St Thomas Hospital for dissection, it solidifies a belief for Eleanor: God isn’t watching.
If you only know Mrs. Lovett from Sondheim’s acclaimed musical, this new play invites you to dig into what made her: the brutal choices of a life in poverty. When the difference is life or death, morality becomes a moveable feast… and Eleanor is getting hungry.
The scales of social justice may be tipped against her, but Eleanor has counterweights of her own: creativity, cunning, a can-do spirit – and a dream of joys to come.
A collaborative theatre company, creating exciting new stories for the stage.
Creative Director Lucy Roslyn and Productions Director Jamie Firth started BoonDog Theatre in 2012 to create new writing for the theatre. They wanted to tell stories that start conversations that last long beyond the audience leaving the theatre.
2025 will mark their 10th original production under the BoonDog brand.
Their work covers many subjects, but they try to focus on social issues, backed by immaculately researched detail.
Their work is covertly political: their commentary on modern society hidden in the (perhaps somewhat more comfortable) fictional past.
They have helped to develop other peoples shows – In 2022 they worked with Colin Hoult on his Edinburgh Comedy Award nominated show “The Death of Anna Mann”
They also run “Fringe Festival Support”, a chatshow supported by the Mental Health Foundation, interviewing Fringe performers and workers about their experiences in the hope that their hints and tips can help others prepare for, and get through, (likely) their most hectic and stressful month of the year.
Other Amplify Seasons: Summer Events
Supported by
