The Little Shop of Horrors
Howard Ashman (book, lyrics) and Alan Menken (music)
Thomas Hopkins Productions
Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester
September 25-November 30, 2026; 2hrs 30mins
(also at Liverpool Playhouse, December 3-January 9, 2027, where Jessie Elland will play Audrey)
As most people will have either heard of or seen the film of Little Shop of Horrors, you need a great production and cast for any new production to make any kind of impact.
But Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester has certainly achieved this: Frank Oz, director of the the 1986 musical film of the stage show, would have been proud of the schlock factor created here by director and choreographer Carrie-Anne Ingrouille. Anyone who has seen fast-moving musical Six will get an idea of the dance moves she has so beautifully put-together here.
It’s an essential part of great farce that the cast plays it seriously - and they all do.
Michael Starke as Skid Row flower-shop owner Mr Mushnik shows a clear-eyed determination to make a buck while turning away - mostly - from the issue that his plant needs the odd pint of blood.
Jed Berry (Seymour), is compelling as the nerd who needs an injection of backbone to say "I love you" either to his blood-thirsty plant or his long-suffering colleague, Audrey, while former EastEnder Maisie Smith, as the girl in question, is proof that she can be both sexy and literally long-suffering. The physical business in her encounter with a door jamb is perfect; shocking, but perfect.
The real star, of course, is rarely seen face-to-face but mainly stem-to-body. The plant, Audrey II - worked by Marcus Ayton - is a marvellous actor. It, or perhaps they, should be in line for an Ergot award (which I fancy are the plant equivalents of the Tonys).
As Audrey II grew ever-more luxuriant and vindictive, the audience responded with gleeful horror. And Audrey II can sing - as well as having great taste in its choice of first victim, sadistic dentist Orin (Benjamin Yates). Anyone with recent experience of tooth treatment will be cheering at that point in the show.
For aficionados of the 1960s, Chiffon, Crystal and Ronette will always sum up so much great music (for the uninitiated, they were the names of great female singing groups). Their successors form the musical backdrop to the show. Rio Maye, Psalms-Nissi Myers-Reid and Gabrielle Davina Smith produce a wonderful wall of sound. One problem - indeed my only problem - with the show, was that the amplification level in the tiny. venue was excessive; I couldn't hear many of Howard Ashman's comic lyrics.
But the show is a great night out, perfect for the Halloween time of year for all the family, from parents with kids who voraciously consume horror stories, to grandparents who remember their glory years. A show for all the world, indeed. Even good humoured dentists...
More info and tickets here
