Who knew a musical about a giant man-eating plant from outer space could prove such a cult classic, always providing plenty of intrigue and humour? This new production directed by Amy Hodge, though flawed, is no exception, with Alan Menken’s score and Howard Ashman’s lyrics and book combining masterfully in a bona fide bop-fest. Musical direction by Chris Poon shows the musical's content in a terrific light, as the healthy sized orchestra carry the production magnificently.
For anyone who is unfamiliar with Little Shop of Horrors, it tells the story of Seymour, a poor, orphaned young man who lives with and works for a Jewish florist called Mr Mushnik. He raises a strange plant of unknown origin, which has a distinct taste for human flesh and blood, leading, as expected, to a thoroughly chaotic and unhinged series of events. Seymour’s life, and that of domestic abuse victim Audrey, both follow similar trajectories, in that they both long for life beyond dilapidated suburb Skid Row.
The main distinction this new production has is seemingly setting the action in the UK rather than New York, which is certainly a bold choice given the musical and lyrical content. Does it work? Largely it was tonally consistent, but sometimes it did feel like a mismatch in terms of the lyrics and book, due to their distinctly American feel; there are occasional changes to try to match the setting and British accents used, such as dropping the specifically US turn of phrase “gee”. However, when it casually mentioned “every home in America” having an Audrey II with little explanation, this kind of throws into question the integrity of this artistic choice.
Performances, happily, could not be faulted, with Colin Ryan a perpetual delight, depicting Seymour with charm and sincerity. There were times he could perhaps have leant further into the character’s innate awkwardness, however, this didn’t adversely affect his portrayal of the character. Georgina Onuorah as Audrey was wonderfully submissive and downtrodden, giving the perfect balance of being hopeful and fearful of abusive boyfriend Orin.
Said dental practitioner was the highlight for this reviewer. Wilf Scolding was absolutely spellbinding, managing to be both rage-inducingly detestable, yet somehow hilariously loveable in equal measure. Major recognition must also go to Crystal, Ronette and Chiffon, their portrayals by Charlotte Jaconelli, Lizzy Rose Esin Kelly and Paige Fenton respectively, who were full of playful sass and attitude, narrating and tying everything together fabulously.
The plant puppetry took a direction we haven’t seen necessarily before, with Daisy Beattie and Seb Meyer opting for a semi-puppeteer design, with Sam Buttery able to really add more of themself into the character. In one way, this kind of takes away from the bizarre otherworldliness of Audrey II, but in another respect, it adds extra layers to what is, otherwise, an enormous talking plant, which was quite an intriguing direction to take.
The initial plant puppet itself, prior to its expansion into its semi-humanoid form, is wonderfully expressive, especially during “Grow For Me” where it manages to display a huge amount of personality, to rapturous reception from the audience. It’s always a huge challenge to reimagine a classic, and do things that have never been done before, whilst retaining the essence of the original. And though not every choice made sense artistically, it still made for an enormously entertaining evening that encapsulates the overriding tone and humour of Menken and Ashman’s material.
Little Shop of Horrors runs until 18th January.
★★★☆☆ (3*)
Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | Photography by Manuel Harlan
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