Hancock's past with Sweeney Todd

I played Mrs Lovett in the original Sweeney Todd production in 1980. It's a wonderful role, but Drury Lane was too big for the play. It's an intimate piece - a lot of the action takes place in the pie shop, and we longed for the stage to be smaller. Stephen Sondheim's music is gentle in parts, it's not all blasting choruses. The Bridewell will be ideal in terms of location and size. It will be more spooky.

Sweeney Todd is one of Steve's best musicals. It sounds crass, but he gets the mood just right. There's an undercurrent of the downtrodden masses being pushed about by the law - when violence seems the only answer to injustice. One of the best versions I saw was in Wormwood Scrubs, where the Pimlico Theatre Company used inmates and a couple of principals. They got the tragedy right and the godawful setting was perfect. I wrote to Steve afterwards and told him how good it was.

I enjoyed playing Mrs Lovett despite the bad reviews we got. She's a comic role but totally macabre. It's very black. If you play it for laughs it doesn't work. I depicted her being madly in love with Sweeney Todd and I found the piece very demanding.

Musically, it's terrifying for an actress because you're scared of drying. I got terrible stage fright, especially when I had to sing and make pies at the same time, because I'm hopeless with props. The play is relentless but it's also a great slice of theatre and a fabulous musical with some pieces worthy of Mozart. I wish it good luck and, you watch, all the Sweeney Todd freaks will come out night after night.