Little Shop of Horrors

A very warm welcome greeted me at Beccles, on a cold, wet, windy night. I made my way into theauditorium to view a stage setting suitable for the back street, sordid drama, yet to unfold.

Seymour (Tom Higgins) depicted the sweet well meaning shop assistant and showed changes ofemotion in the plot with style. Audrey (Carmel Hannant) portrayed the lack of self esteem and her hopeless life situation in her abusive relationship with Orin with verve. The trio of girls Ronette (Hannah Bales), Crystal (Daisy Tyrell-Kent) and Chiffon (Bonnie Quinlan) worked well together as sassy teenage youngsters with a cool street urchin slant. Mr Mushnik (Mike Wareham) the owner and Seymour’s boss of the ‘failing’ flower shop was suitably manipulative and driven by his greed to riches. Orin Scrivello (Paul Clark) was sadistic and egotistical with a passion for pain and made the part his own. Audrey 2 (Ian Cook) was excellent as the voice of this ‘blood-eating’ plant as were the plant operators (Megan Gallagher and Livvi Cannell) They all synchronised together perfectly to create the voice and movement of Audrey 2. The remaining cast were supportive and enhanced this tragic love story and both principals and chorus sang well throughout the performance.

The Production team (Soph Cannell, Sam Fennelly, Jean Cator and Alex Rimmel) skilfully used the stage area to create a polished Little Shop of Horrors, making a fine adaption of this iconic musical.  The stage set was faded to illustrate the sordid Skid Row and the props and furniture equally added to the ethos of the run-down district. Please consider music levels match the volume of voices at all times. Be aware using upstage action it can upstage performers.

The lighting, subdued in places, where appropriate, added to the story and blended with the plot. Consistency with the costume style and marking a specific era was evident in the storyline for continuity. This was good. Personally, the trio of girl’s costumes needed to maintain a style of always being different to each other or to look the same.

Feed me, sung by the plant, I particularly enjoyed as I did the traditional Jewish dancing in Mushnik and son, a lovely touch. The dead dentist in the chair was wheeled offstage to ensure his exit. This was excellent. These fine details ensured that no distraction occurred to the story.

A very enjoyable evening, where I was treated to one of the musicals I love. Well done to everyone involved in this production. Thank you.

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