Show Plot Sweeney Todd and the String of Pearls

Authors: Georg Dibdin Pitt (adapted from the original text attributed to James Malcolm Rymer and Thomas Peckett Prest)

Time Period: Set in the late 18th century (specifically around 1785, during the reign of King George III)

Setting: Grimy, gaslit London—centering around Sweeney Todd’s barber shop at 186 Fleet Street (near St. Dunstan’s Church) and Mrs. Lovett’s adjacent meat pie shop on Bell Yard

Summary:

Sweeney Todd; or, The String of Pearls is the story of a sailor named Mark Ingestrie who goes missing after a voyage, leaving behind a valuable string of pearls intended for his sweetheart, Johanna Oakley. Mark’s friend, Lieutenant Thornhill, takes possession of the pearls to deliver to Johanna. On his way, he stops for a shave at Sweeney Todd’s shop on Fleet Street and vanishes completely.