Little Shop of Horrors

Little Shop of Horrors is Irchester Players' first full scale musical in ten years and what an excellent choice it has proved to be for this talented and hardworking society. Little Shop of Horrors was first staged in 1982 and was a hit on Broadway and in the West End and also on the big screen. The music was composed by Alan Menken and the Book and Lyrics by Howard Ashman.

The direction for this production from Luke Campbell and Tom Spencer was impressive indeed and along with their production and creative team transformed this small venue by adding depth and height to the stage and playing area. The set was amazing and engineered and executed to perfection; to all those involved in the design and building of the set, you have my heartfelt congratulations. When I heard that the company were to make their own Audrey II (the plant) I had no idea what to expect, to say I was impressed is an understatement indeed! The finished product was as good as any of the professional Audrey II’s I have seen. The musical direction by Richard Awdry was excellent as was the band that accompanied the cast. The vocal coach, Rachael Bass deserves a mention too as the singing throughout the show was of a very high standard. Chloe Ellson, the choreographer did an excellent job too, with some imaginative and well-performed routines.

The casting of the principal actors was perfect … There were awesome vocals and harmonising from Poppy Beale as Chiffon, Emma Ellson as Crystal and Beth Lane as Ronnette. Marc Whitestone gave a very convincing and assured performance as Mushnik. Karina Young gave an outstanding performance as the sweet and downtrodden Audrey. Chris Taylor was perfectly cast as Seymour and gave a warm and sincere performance that I particularly enjoyed, his duet, “Suddenly Seymour” with Karina Young was a real “show stopper”. The demented dentist, Orin, was convincingly played by Chris Thirlwell, who managed the balance between evil and comedy really well. The role of Audrey II was brilliantly played by Anthony Curson, he really brought the plant to life! The Ensemble was incredible and worked hard throughout the show. Praise too must go to all the puppeteers who helped to bring Audrey II to life. Well done to the company you were all awesome!

The set, Audrey II and all the props were outstanding. The costumes were all well-made and authentic and the make-up was perfect. The lighting and sound quality was excellent throughout the performance.

This production of Little Shop of Horrors is a real testimony to what can be achieved through sheer hard work, determination and team work. Congratulations to all at Irchester Players for what was a highly entertaining and enjoyable evening.

CAROLINE JERVIS                                                                                                                                   NODA EAST MIDLANDS DISTRICT 7 REPRESENTATIVE.    

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.