Little Shop of Horrors

Believe it or not, this was my first experience of this show.  Although I have seen excerpts and seen/heard songs in the 40-odd years since it first saw the light of day, I have never seen a full production.  Living in Harrogate, with its RHS Garden, which attempts to encourage a love of anything green, I can only assume that stories of man-eating plants have been discouraged. Seeing this production in the town which gave us a famous TV gardener, who is also known to have taken part in amateur stage performances in his time, is perhaps appropriate in its way.

It was the younger members of the Society who were entrusted with the responsibility of further enhancing its reputation and they certainly did not fail.  There’s a comparatively small cast but all performed with great skill and confidence.  The story revolves around the experiences of Seymour Krelborn, an assistant in a flower shop who discovers that a certain, apparently innocuous little plant, found after an eclipse, has unexpected qualities, especially a liking for blood, preferably of the human variety. The more you give it, the more it wants and the result is its growth into a huge specimen, which ultimately bites off the hand that feeds it, as they say, including most of the cast. The part of Seymour is a challenging one, especially for a youngster, as he is seldom off stage and his performance has to reflect the development of the character from a somewhat shy, diffident person into one with the self-assurance to tackle all that is thrown at him. Barnaby Killan gave an excellent, confident performance in this role, the audience immediately behind him. 

His colleague in the shop is Audrey, a young lady of whom Seymour would like to see more, except that she is already in a rather difficult relationship with dental surgeon, Orin Scrivello.  He is abusing Audrey and, discovering this, Seymour tries to summon the courage to deal with him, but ultimately cannot bring himself to do so.  Orin has a liking for nitrous oxide and asphyxiates himself in a fatal accident, giving Seymour the solution he sought, with the need to look no further than his plant, now named Audrey II, for the disposal of the body.  Daisy Button gave a charming performance as the unfortunate Audrey and the duet with Seymour as they are free to develop their relationship (“Suddenly, Seymour”) was excellent.  Sam Woodward’s role as the dentist makes him the villain of the piece and so convincing was he that we were not entirely sorry to see him go.  Except that he kept turning up again; not, as a resurrected dentist, but in a variety of small parts as Seymour’s increasing popularity brings a number of visitors to the shop. I am not sure whether it is usual for these parts to be played by the deceased dentist but it adds humour, allows the actor concerned to show his versatility (he was a woman at one stage) and avoids having others hanging around for the whole production, simply to deliver a few lines.  Sam made the most of his opportunities.

Benji Kirk is an experienced performer and gave a good performance as Mushnik, the owner of the flower shop, who ultimately adopts Seymour as his son and makes him a partner in the now flourishing business. Guiding us through the whole thing is a Greek-chorus-like trio of locals on Skid Row, Chiffon, Ronette and Crystal, played by Emilia Marszewska, Mahalia Beevers and Ash Macintosh-Dixon respectively. Their songs were well delivered with some excellent harmonies; it’s one thing to find three good singers but it’s another to find three whose voices blend so well together.  Finally, we must not forget the plant: its words were voiced by the suitably threatening voice of Nick Ward, whilst its increasingly powerful and blood-thirsty movements were the work of puppeteers Matthew Nutting and Liam Woolley.    

The cast were supported by an excellent 10-piece orchestra under the direction of Mike Gilroy, whilst the entire production was in the very capable hands of Mark Allan.  Although fairly simple, the set still had to be planned, especially as regards a home in which the plant can grow. Congratulations go to the team involved; to describe them as “flowerpot men” is perhaps a little unkind?  If you’ll excuse the pun, it seems to me that a show set in a flower shop is an appropriate vehicle in which to allow a group of youngsters to blossom. They certainly did and long may they continue to do so.  Just avoid dangerous plants.                  

                    

        

         

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