Little Shop of Horrors

It was a pleasure to make my first visit to Dynamik Theatre – who have returned to the NODA fold following the Covid period – and to visit the Cobham theatre in Bromsgrove for the first time, for this performance of Little Shop of Horrors.  And a very worthwhile visit it was, as the team delivered an entertaining, well-honed performance of this modern classic.

Little Shop of Horrors is the rather gruesome tale of a flesh-eating plant which literally falls from space into an unsuspecting community, where it is taken in by the hapless Seymour Krelborn.  As it happens, Seymour works at a struggling florist, and it isn’t long before Audrey II (named after the co-worker on whom Seymour has a crush) is pulling in the punters.  But the plant has an insatiable appetite – for human blood – and the play ends in a grimly farcical denouement, with the entire principal cast having been consumed by the growing monster, which by that point fills half the shop. 

Ollie Harper was a characterful Seymour, capturing the character’s lovelorn awkwardness well.  He formed a strong double act with Annabel Pilcher as Audrey – all ditzy vulnerableness but with a strong heart, performed with a clear nod to the movie version.   Seymour and Audrey’s duet in ‘Suddenly Seymour’ is always a highlight of this show for me, and I’m happy to say that the pair did not disappoint! 

As Mr Mushnik, Jack Higgins clearly relished the challenge of playing a character some years his senior, and Ed Blann imbued Orin Scrivello with the necessary menace. Portraying the trio of skid row kids, Yasmeen Shaaban, Lauren Toney and Emma Neale were exemplary as Crystal, Chiffon and Ronnette respectively – their opening song setting the tone perfectly and their regular sassy interjections absolutely on point. 

Unusually for Little Shop, Audrey II was voiced by a female performer, Alex Wheatley.  I’ve not seen this done before, but I guess it makes a kind of sense given that the plant is named after a woman.  It was a decision that worked well artistically too, as Alex brought a different kind of energy and menace to the role, as the usual basso profundo was replaced something with a bit more of a jagged edge.  Puppeteer Mitch Brown did a good job controlling the increasingly unwieldy plant, and also made a couple of nice appearances in the ensemble. 

Congratulations to the entire cast, who threw themselves into the material with gusto and clearly enjoyed themselves and much as the audience did watching them!  The singing was of an excellent standard throughout – strong, tuneful and archly aware of the absurdity of the goings-on down on Skid Row.  There was also some nice movement, particularly from the trio.

The show was ably directed by Artistic Director Jamie Poxon, keeping the pace up effectively and highlighting the cartoonish feel of the story from time to time.  Musical director Callum Thompson led a ten-piece band expertly, their fun, vibrant sound lending a real energy to the show.  However, I did feel that at times the singers were overpowered by the band, meaning that it was sometimes difficult to hear the lyrics, which was a pity given their importance to the feel of the show. 

A word on the set, which I understand was constructed from scratch by the Dynamik team.  This was a great achievement, as they delivered a setting that was every bit the equal of commercially available alternatives.  The same goes for Audrey II, which was excellently realised throughout.   My only quibble was that perhaps Mushnik’s florist was a little bit too distant from the audience.  I realise that there may have been practical reasons for this, but given that a lot of the action takes place there, it would have been nice to have been a little closer to the action.

The show was atmospherically lit by Josh Sewell, utilising generally lower levels of lighting.  This was a fair choice for a show with what is, at heart, a very dark theme.  Costumes were nicely chosen and appropriate to the setting.  In another small break with tradition, we saw a less co-ordinated approach to the trio, but again this worked well to enhance their individual characters. 

A warm welcome back to NODA to all at Dynamik Theatre.  My thanks for inviting me to the performance, it was great to meet some of you, and my congratulations to all involved.  As the roars of approval from the audience at the curtain call amply demonstrated, this Little Shop was anything but a horror show!

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