It’s not often that you leave a theatre after watching a musical wanting never to visit the dentist ever again! But that is how you might feel after watching Orin Scrivello inflict torture on his patients during the first act of Little Shop of Horrors.
Little Shop of Horrors is set in Skid Row, an imaginary street in the 60’s, where Seymour, an assistant in a flower shop discovers a new breed of plant. Soon Seymour discovers that this plant has a taste for blood and it isn’t long before this carnivorous creature promises the downtrodden man a life of fame and fortune in exchange for fresh human flesh.
Claire Buckfield as Seymours love interest Audrey is particularly good. The character goes on a big journey throughout the show and Claire shines as she displays the characters emotions, going from the silent domestic abuse victim, to beginning a genuinely cutesy relationship with Seymour.
Alex Ferns was also very strong as the psychopathic dentist. He played the wife beating character well, but one feels that if he wants to avoid being typecast in the future then he must try and avoid roles like this. His comic timing however, was impeccable.
The real revelation of the show however was Damien Humbley who played Seymour. His acting was every bit as good as his singing which was crystal clear.
The three ladies who provided the narration had excellent vocal talent when singing individually, but when they sang together it was very hard to decipher the words. Perhaps this was due to their strong American accents, or perhaps there were some technical issues on the night.
The star of the show was undoubtedly the plant! The fact that it’s all singing and all dancing makes you sort of forget that it’s murderous and ruins everyone’s lives around it. The man behind the voice, Clive Rowe is particularly good.
The set comprised of a back alley which had brick buildings on either sides of the stage. These buildings folded out to reveal the interiors of the shop and the dentist surgery. It was very well utilised and it was good to see that there wasn’t much dead space on the space.
Overall this is a good production, having starting its life as The Menier Chocolate Factorys revival in 2006. Whilst nothing about the show is lavish, everything is executed well. The score isn’t particularly memorable, but it is noticeable that the songs were written by future Disney composers – Howard Ashman and Alan Menkin who went on to write the scores for Aladdin and The Little Mermaid.
7/10
The Little Shop of Horrors runs at the Liverpool Empire until Saturday 9th May, before continuing its UK tour in Milton Keynes (11th-16th May) and in Woking (18th-23rd May).
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