Into the Woods lighting wins Olivier for shaping its darker turns
The West End production of Stephen Sondheim’s *Into the Woods* has won an Olivier award for its lighting, which helps shape the musical’s shift from an inviting fairytale forest to a place of darkness and destruction. Designer Aideen Malone says the work was unfinished when it opened, despite its strong reception from audiences and judges.
Malone’s design uses layers of smoke and haze, with light marking changes in time and moments of revelation. The production transferred from the Bridge Theatre to the West End and was created with director Jordan Fein, set designer Tom Scutt and video designer Roland Horvath. Malone says her route into lighting began through theatre studies and work in dance, where she valued its mix of technical craft and creativity.
In short
- *Into the Woods* won an Olivier for its lighting.
- Aideen Malone says the design was unfinished when it opened.
- Light and haze trace the forest’s shift from wonder to ruin.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “As mega-hit Into the Woods wows the West End, what’s the secret weapon of this Sondheim spectacular?”.