‘The Duchess of Malfi’ and Other Blood on London Stages

NYTimes.com: WHEN the cannibal pie maker Mrs. Lovett sings, “Times is hard” in the popular revival of “Sweeney Todd” at the Adelphi Theater, the words reverberate. Played by Imelda Staunton as the ultimate avatar of British can-do gumption, Mrs. Lovett inhabits a visual landscape guaranteed to set off alarm bells in audiences here. That’s in addition to the usual tensions that come from knowing that many throats will be cut before the evening ends.