Review: Little Shop of Horrors

Little Shop of Horrors takes a struggling florists in an American 60’s slum, an orphaned botanist with a huge crush, and adds one speaking, singing, sassing, blood-hungry plant from outer space. Madness and a cracking soundtrack ensue.

The show is immensely technically complex, managing a huge cast, a live band, and pulling out more or less every trick the lighting board is capable of. The cast cover every inch of the Studio, springing across the stage, bursting out of doors in gospel robes, and dancing up the aisle for the final number. It’s an incredibly slick, fast-firing production that grabs the audience from the off and never hesitates on energy, theatricality, or humour.

Vocals were outstanding across the board. The curtains pull back to reveal an American 60’s slum, Skid Row, and Ronnette, Chiffon and Crystal. The parts are filled by Sarah Carton, Amber Muldoon and Sarah Tattersall, all three excellent, robust singers who storm the bustling opening number and proceed to navigate the grimy, tongue-in-cheek world of Skid Row.

The production celebrated the dark humour that comes naturally to Little Shop, from the overt, with the licentious thrusts and manic giggles of Ed Jones as the deranged, sadistic dentist, to the subtler, in Tom Mason’s masterful performance as Mr. Mushnik. Mushnik and Son was a particular comic highlight, a lesser-known number here brought to abundant, hysterical life.

The leads, Seymour and Audrey, were pulled off excellently by Ali Bourne and Kirsten Abo-Henrikessen. Audrey was spot-on, sweet, sad, and compelling, whilst Bourne, playing a quasi-hipster Seymour, held the stage confidently and convincingly, from moments of nervous, indecisive murderousness to adorable unrequited love.

In such a huge cast you might expect weak links, but choreography and energy rarely flagged. The big numbers, Skid Row, Suddenly Seymour and Don’t Feed the Plant encapsulated the show’s major victory – a rambunctious sort of busyness, where something is always happening and a laugh is never far away. And on top of this uproarious vitality, it’s touching, too. You feel for Seymour. You want Audrey to get out of Skid Row.

Huge props also have to go to… the props. Three puppets of the plant were made by volunteers (mostly from Art Soc) to a phenomenal quality, from a meagre hand puppet to one big enough for your average drama student to sleep in. Alex Horrox-White’s voicing worked perfectly, with impressive range, timing and husk.

DramaSoc truly have pulled off a tremendous show with Little Shop of Horrors, treating sell-out audiences to a brilliantly entertaining night.