Little Shop of Horrors

Little Shop of Horrors is based on the film by Roger Corman and screenplay by Charles Griffith. It follows the story of Seymour Krelborn, a downtrodden floral assistant who discovers a carnivorous plant he names Audrey II. The plant quickly becomes the shop’s main attraction, drawing in crowds and bringing success to Seymour and the flower shop. However, this seemingly miraculous plant has a sinister appetite for human blood. As Audrey II grows, so does its demand for fresh victims, leading Seymour into a series of moral dilemmas. Little Shop of Horrors is a campy tale of ambition, love and the consequences of making Faustian bargains. 

Upon arrival, I received a warm welcome from the Chairperson, June Johnston and the Front of House Team. 

Grace McCormack-Morgan (Chiffon), Leah Parris (Crystal) and Jen McMahon (Ronnette) opened the show with their confident performance of 'Little Shop of Horrors'. Jonathan Ellson portrayed Seymour as a naive and caring soul, only wanting the best for everyone. His musical numbers were flawless and he kept a strong character throughout the performance. Amy Ford as Audrey provided a strong New York accent throughout. Her vocals during ‘Somewhere That’s Green’ were on point and showed Audrey’s vulnerable side. When Audrey offered herself as food for Audrey II, the chemistry between her and Seymour was felt throughout the auditorium and was quite moving. The character Mr Mushnik, portrayed by Rich Llewellyn, with a strong performance as the floral shop owner and provided a Jewish New York accent throughout. Orin, the dentist, was well played by Reece McCormack-Morgan with a southern accent and Elvis like persona. He brought the character to life and was slightly terrifying when manic following his use of nitrous oxide. Audrey II was operated by Alison Thomas, she did an incredible job bringing the plant to life at various stages of its growth and it was easy to forget that Audrey II is not real! There was such attention to detail in the way the plant moved throughout the performance, it was energetic and must have been a feat to keep up as Audrey II got bigger and bigger! The voice of Audrey II was provided by Ian Hammond-Stark. He captivated the audience with his soulful vocals and demanding antics of the plant. Although the ensemble was small, made up of Hannah Johnson, Alison Thomas, Patsy Coles, Kerry-Anne McCormack-Morgan, Anita Osborne and Roger Osborne, they provided great volume to the company songs such as ‘Skid Row’. The company were clearly well rehearsed and knew what they were doing throughout. Although some of the singing was off key at times, everyone was in time with the backing tracks which was impressive given the difficult timing of some of the musical numbers. Daniel Waterfield did a great job as the musical director and it was lovely to be able to hear what the characters were singing, with clear diction. The choreography provided by Kirsty Woodward added an extra layer to the musical numbers and was in keeping with the feel and period of the show. The show was directed by Sebastian Goss. His direction made good use of the small set, props and scenery and made the storyline easy to follow. 

Dave Jones provided the sound, it was flawless and all characters and ensemble could be heard well. The lighting was controlled by Flic Jones. It was effective, enabling the audience to distinguish when the characters were inside or outside of the floral store with subtle lighting changes. The use of colour accentuated scenes, particularly when Seymour was offering Audrey II her first taste of human flesh via the dentist. 

The props were in keeping with the period of the show, including old telephones, a cash register and bright flowers in the floral shop. There was close attention to detail in terms of the clock on the wall changing time, reflecting the pace of the piece. 

Throughout the show, there were no missed cues or noticable mistakes which reflects how well rehearsed the company, stage crew and technicians were. I enjoyed the performance and look forward to seeing what Tingdene Entertains perform in the future. 

© NODA CIO.  All rights reserved 

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.