Little Shop of Horrors

It was my pleasure to attend Bishop Auckland Town Hall recently to see Bishop Auckland Theatre Society’s (BATS) production of Little Shop of Horrors, a horror comedy rock musical with a  cult following.  It’s a fairly difficult venue for them to negotiate with a small playing area and little wing space so Little Shop was an ideal choice for their talented cast where they can utilise the space with a fixed set and of course the ever growing plant “Audrey II”

The story follows a hapless florist shop worker Seymour Krelborn, who raises a plant that feeds on human blood and flesh. The music, composed by Menken in the style of early 1960s rock and roll, doo-wop and early Motown, includes several well-known tunes, including the title song, "Skid Row (Downtown)", "Somewhere That's Green", and "Suddenly, Seymour".

The set was largely fixed with the use of moving specials to create new areas of action, and set within Mr Mushnik’s failing flower shop.  I was really impressed with Adam May playing Seymour, he’s really grown as a performer since I last saw him and played Seymour beautifully.  We were drawn into his vulnerability and his character was believable which is half the battle and can be quite difficult to really get to grips with!  His voice has come on leaps and bounds and I really enjoyed his singing.  Really well done Adam.  The ever beautiful and consistent Jade Guy played Audrey, his workmate and love interest wonderfully and her rendition of “Somewhere That’s Green” was gorgeous.  As always she looks absolutely beautiful on stage and gave a vulnerable sincerity to the Audrey role.

The cranky Mr Mushnik was played by Matthew Harper who was utterly recognisable in his stage make up and consistently stayed in character throughout with very clear diction.  Matthew Pegden seemed to play everything!  He appeared as Orin Scivello DDS the abusive dentist boyfriend of Audrey who falls foul of Audrey II, the Radio Announcer, DJ, Mr Bernstein and Patrick Martin – what a range of skills, well done!  The dentist especially was utterly manic and hilarious.  The three street urchins and semi narrators of the show Crystal, Ronette and Chiffon were played by Ruth Stapleton, Emma Westwood-Fulcher and Danielle Beck respectively who did a sterling job with what seemed like a myriad of costume changes.  Their sparkling gown opening number was superb,

Kudos goes to the voice of Audrey II however, Josh Railton.  Wow!  It’s difficult to portray humour, timing, emotion, menace and many other required when you’re only working with a vocal only and no vision but goodness, he didn’t just do it, he smashed it.  Feed me!  Rich baritone vocals and a well-timed expressive voice made the plant just come alive!  Really well done Josh.

Director Emma Westwood-Fulcher and Musical Director Ruth Stapleton did a fantastic job in bringing Skid Row to life in Bishop Auckland.  There was great detail in the changing set and adaptations which enhanced the production significantly.  Assisting them in supporting roles were puppeteer Nick Robson, Amanda Stewart as Mrs Luce and Skip Skip, Suzanne rainbow as ensemble, puppeteer and photographer, Grace Bonallie as ensemble and a puppeteer, Emily Scott and Laura Armstrong as ensemble.  Well done to you all.  The puppeteers had clearly well rehearsed as their timing was perfect with Josh’s vocal and the various happenings on stage.  I loved “Mean Green Mother from Outer Space” in the finale with everyone including Josh joining in, really energetic and fun end to the show.

It was just a shame there were some significant sound issues the evening I attended.  The show is cued from a track and cast were often waiting for the track and microphones regularly missed the first few sentences of dialogue.  Real shame when the rest of the performance went so well.

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