Little Shop of Horrors

~~Chillingly dark but also very funny with great characters and songs, Little Shop of Horrors is a fine show. It’s short and moves along quickly – and in this case brevity is certainly the soul of wit.

That said, director Rob Nicholls and his team made the show very much their own, using the 1960 film and comic books for inspiration for the set and costumes. The result was an excellent night out.

Very much an ensemble piece there were some stand-out performances. Rob Callaby, as the unassuming shop assistant and dogsbody who discovers the ‘strange and interesting plant’ which leads to the improvement in his fortunes but also his ultimate  downfall, was just right, as was Rebecca Jones, performing the role of Audrey with great skill and a very impressive singing voice. Nick Hallissey as sadistic dentist Orin Scrivello, DDS, was way, way over the top – and very, very funny. The Ronnettes, very ably led by Amber Sinclair, made a huge impression with fine singing and dancing. Nick Fletcher gave Audrey II a soulful presence and Paul Coleman made a suitably harassed Mushnik.

The ensemble did an excellent job with some nice cameos and chorus work – movement was great with everyone on stage kept busy.

The set was cleverly designed – though I’d have liked more flowers! I thought the idea of starting the story with a theme (including costume) of grey/black and white, turning to colour with Audrey II’s arrival, with black dominating at the end was an extraordinarily inspirational idea, which would not be out of place in a professional show. Projection above the set itself was used throughout to reinforce this comic book feel.

Costumes – especially the colour-themed ‘60’s dresses of the Ronettes – were excellent.

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