Angela Lansbury

Well, they took it for granted that I knew the legend because coming from England originally, I know all about Sweeney Todd.

When I say I know all about Sweeney Todd, I know that he was almost...

grand guignol character that was sung about and little doggerel rhymes were written about, you know, Sweeney Todd will get you if you don't watch out.

He's a character almost like Jack the Ripper in English folklore.

And he turns up and people quote his name all the time.

Yes, it's the third time I've worked with him, actually.

Absolutely.

Steve always auditions all his own work.

And the thing he loves to do when he has a new song, he wants you to come over and hear it.

And when he's got a few, he'll say, come on over, I want to play you the song that I've written for you in such and such a place in the script.

And I'll pop over to his house and he'll sit down at the piano and he'll sing the song.

He kills himself laughing when he was playing The Worst Pies in London.

Can you imagine trying to play that and make all the sound effects and, you know, all the beats and so on, which are done with the dough and the rolling pin and all of that?

He'd worked it all out, every piece of business.

And that song Steve had written, it was right there on the music.

She swaps the fly, she hits the dough, she pops her mouth or whatever she does, you know, at that moment.

And no wonder with the price of meat What it is when you get it Never thought I'd live to see the day Men would think it was a treat Finding poor animals What are dying in the street Mrs Mooney has a pie shop Does her business but I've noticed something weird Lately all her neighbours' cats have disappeared

I've to wind it to a, what I calls, enterprise.

Popping pussies into pies.

Wouldn't do in my shop.