[Monsieur D'Arque]

Ah, a controversial topic in Sweeneydom. Toby's mental and psychological state. Some of the possibilities I've seen thrown out for the "adolescent, simple-minded individual:"

1. He's mildly to severly autistic.
2. He's mentally fine for his age, but emotionally crippled and uneducated.
3. He's an idiot savant much older than his teens.
4. In the words of my friend, "I think Toby is a homeless, autistic, borderline-schizophrenic, depressive young homosexual with a case of arrested development." I think she was kidding.

[wolfenflautist]

I really had a time wondering what was wrong with him. I mean, the first I got interested with ST was the movie, and he was perfectly fine! Then when I saw clips from the stage show, he was a completely different person than who I remember from the film. Wikipedia doesn't say anything about it....maybe it's left for the viewers to decide?

[SomeoneLikeYou]

I pick #2. He seems to be emotionally inexperienced due to his apparent search for a parent figure, which is why he becomes so attached to Mrs. Lovett. I think he only goes mentally insane after he witnesses the Beadle's bloody corpse barreling down Lovett's chute.

[WickedToo]

[SomeoneLikeYou]

[Vichysois]

Here's an interview on youtube where the original Toby discusses the character:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QB48MTcNMzY


He mentions aspects of a kind of inherent darkness in Toby...a propensity for his ultimate end, etc.

[Yakko]

That was interesting to look at.