Little Shop of Horrors

Whenever I see a production of 'Little Shop of Horrors', it's a reminder to avoid dentists and florists! Garforth's production of this fun, albeit gory, musical was scary but charming at the same time.

The production was full of pace - the comedy and pathos came over very well. I am always amazed at what this group achieve on such a small stage and I was worried that the 'plant', Audrey ll, would dominate but my fears were unfounded - the cast used the stage to the full and spilled over onto side stairs, which they used to great effect.

For a first-time director of a full-scale musical, Kate Dixon guided her small but effective cast through what is quite a complicated story with sensitivity. Gavin White (Seymour) and Joanne Jackson (Audrey) played their parts with style and were supported equally well by the other principals. In addition, the ensemble worked hard to make the most of their characters.

The musical numbers were in the safe hands of Brenda Knowles as musical director and accompanist - I see in the credits, Brenda also gets out the sewing machine to make costumes - and very lovely they were, (also helped by Elaine McAleese). Movement and dance was in the safe hands of Rachel Dixon. This is a true team effort group, everyone contributing to the production, which is a credit to them and to Amateur Theatre.

The sets for this show, designed by Mark Dixon, were effective in terms of the available space and did not look crowded in any way - in fact, all the backstage and front-of-house personnel worked extremely hard, the often unsung heroes! I must say, I thought the sound balance was of an extremely high quality - we heard every word and no clicks or buzzes (which can so often spoil a performance!)

Once again, Garforth have presented a stylish show, enjoyed by the community - I understand that the title of the show had caused some patrons to give this show a miss - well, it was their loss - a delightful evening's entertainment.

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