Little Shop Of Horrors

Many thanks to Blackpool and Fylde Light Operatic Company for inviting me to see their production of ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ at the Lowther Pavillion on Thursday 29th September 2022. This was an excellent production indeed. 

Having never seen this show, director Howard Raw captivated my interest from the get go through having members of the cast dressed as the ‘Winos’ dotted around the theatre, decorating the space and setting the scene in which the show is set. For those who are new to this production, it tells the story of Seymour who was raised an orphan by a Plant Shop owner in a run down suburb in America. It goes on to deliberate many moral dilemmas that he is faced with upon discovering a blood thirsty plant from outer space. 

Howard staged this production very well indeed. With help from A1 Stage and J4  Productions, the interior of the flower shop, which is where the majority of the play was set, was gracefully decorated in luscious tacky pink wallpaper. There was an invisible wall used throughout the staging, created though having a separate walk space between the 2 downstage entrances, with downstage left used as the entry and exit point to the shop door, which was entered through a wing mid stage left. This notion was maintained creatively throughout the show and for about a quarter of the first act, this space was littered with members of the chorus posing as the winos (homeless people), clearly demonstrating the poverty of the area the shop was situated in. During one of the few scene changes, tab was brought in to allow room for the plant, Audrey II, to ‘grow’. Very cleverly, this tab had a print of the invisible wall on it, which I thought was a small but ingenious way of keeping consistency of this notion throughout the production. There was a really lovely moment created using this invisible wall. As Seymour becomes more frantic about his morality towards the end of the show, Audrey and Seymour have a fall out of sorts. Audrey walks out of the shop and along the invisible wall, contemplating the happenings. Behind her we see Seymour walking in the shop in the same direction in the same headspace. Both stop moving at the same time, take another reflective moment and then carry on with their plot. This echo allowed the audience to gain insight into both characters’ moments simultaneously, and was beautifully sculpted and performed.

Danielle Woodhouse provided the choreography for the show; as a whole this was to a great standard, matching the players’ abilities and remaining true to their characterisation and journeys. The most notable comment on the choreography for me was for that of the 3 narrators of the show, Crystal, Ronette, and Chiffon. These 3 characters act as a Greek chorus for the show. The choreography for them was so slick and tight, au fait with 1970s backing dancers. They moved as a unit but danced as individuals. Their choreography was detailed, down to the placement of hand lines and eye focus and was a nice mix of unison and cannon, lyrical and rhythmic. 

Musical direction was provided by Dave Thomas and vocal coaching by Mykey J Young. It was great to hear the revised 2003 Broadway orchestration. The music was spot on, with a nice balance between vocals and band, and there were some wonderful dynamics and tones created in the numbers. I particularly loved the arrangements of Audrey II’s numbers. Audrey II is the alien plant, who is also a puppet. The arrangements of this character's numbers mixed a rock tone, gospel, some nice grit and wonderful animation, bringing the puppet to life.

The other design elements to the production were great. Costumes were authentic to character, theme and period. Lighting was great, some nice snap silhouettes were created and I loved the robotic green spotlights periodically running into the audience, breaking the fourth wall and integrating us into the performance. The puppets of Audrey II were phenomenal, really professionally crafted. I loved how the 4 characters who were eaten could physically fit in his mouth, again some lovely theatrical moments created with this notion.

The ensemble brought some real animation to the production. They all were cohesive and had similar stylings of caricatured characterisation. Very well done to all of the ensemble, great work.

Karl Hugo took on the lead role of Seymour Krelborn. He nailed this role, taking the character on a real journey from the insecure, nervous persona at the beginning of the show, through to the enraged and conflicted version at the end. He sang beautifully and continued this character journey through song. 

Sophie Coulon played Semour’s love interest Audrey. For me this was perfectly cast. Sophie played this with all the brashness needed to portray a confident and bolshy character, but brought some real gentleness and vulnerability to Audrey also. All of her reactions were detailed and true to the character, and at times really detailed. Her vocal was flawless and she truly was present in the moment with her storytelling in her songs.

Dan Hudson brought some real charisma to Orin Scrivello DDS (The Dentist). His number ‘Dentist!’ was outstanding, bringing light and shade to this sadistic character. He also cameoed as 3 other characters in one song, and each was individual and detailed. Well done Dan.

Tim Walford played the Plant Shop owner Mr Mushnik very well indeed. A thoroughly believable character, grounded with a sense of humility throughout. 

Audrey II was performed by Eryka Nickson as Puppeteer and voiced by Callum Morley. I adored this character, the 2 worked well together tying in the emphasis of words and syllables to the puppet, seamlessly bringing this character to life. Callum’s vocal performance was first class, utilising differing vocal techniques to really animate the Plant. Well done to both for this, great work!

The 3 narrators of the production, Crystal, Ronette, and Chiffon, were quite simply outstanding. Performed by Nikita Coulon, Louise Moore and Livs Ball, the 3 were very synchronised, delivered some great storytelling and had the most wonderful blend of vocal harmonies. Excellent job ladies, you should be super proud of your work!

In summary, a wonderfully enjoyable production from Blackpool and Fylde Light Operatic. Well done to everyone involved and I am looking forward to seeing more of your performances in the near future.

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