Review: Little Shop of Horrors - Sheringham Little Theatre

Review by Ray Tempesta

Everyone's favourite bloodthirsty plant, Audrey II, took root on the Sheringham Little Theatre stage as the summer rep cast performed the 80s blockbuster, Little Shop of Horrors.

In case you don't know it, Little Shop... follows the dilemmas of Seymour Krelborn, who raises a plant unique and interesting enough to turn around the fortunes of the failing florist shop he works in. The major snag is that the plant only flourishes when fed human blood.

I've seen a number of versions of the production over the years, but in an innovative take on this darkly comic musical, Harry Wyatt was more than simply the voice of Audrey II. Rather than rooted static in a corner of the stage, as the plant grew so did Wyatt's costume, transforming him into a hydra-like beast (aided by the puppetry of the superbly synchronised Susanna Harding, Caius Law, and Rachael Cummins) and allowing the actor to prowl the stage. Wyatt's sensational voice was still undoubtedly the highlight, but the costume also gave him a wonderful physical menace too.

Jonathan Iceton seemed perfectly suited to the role of Seymour; full of timid, well-meaning charm but his voice packed a punch when it needed to, such as when vocally sparring with Audrey II in Feed Me. Lucy Connor was suitably sweet as the downtrodden Audrey. Her rendition of Somewhere That's Green was delivered with such gorgeous clarity, and showcased her beautifully clean vocals.

Jonathan Houlston provided a compelling watch, firstly as Audrey's abusive boyfriend, the sadistic, nitrous oxide addicted dentist, but then in the second half as a host of daft ensemble characters. Donald Forbes was also impactful as the cranky florist shop owner, Mushnik.

Anu Akinseye, Attia Law, and Sofia Millington did a fine job as street urchins Chiffon, Crystal, and Ronette, with their precise choreography adding a nice extra layer to the musical numbers. As a trio, they seemed to lack a certain oomph vocally - maybe the sound levels weren't quite right, but The Meek Shall Inherit in particular sounded a little, well, meek. However, whenever their vocals were lent to the full company numbers, they sounded excellent, such as in Skid Row.

On the production side, it was really well put together by Director Nick Earnshaw. Aside from some clever staging, the use of projections on screens which framed much of the action were a delightful touch. They were thoughtful and always in keeping with the action, but never a distraction.

Little Shop of Horrors continues at Sheringham Little Theatre on selected dates until the 25th August.