JADAR

★★★★★

After the recent eclipse at the start of April, it was impossible not to go and see Little Shop of Horrors at Bolton’s Octagon and get a little taste of the bizarre horticulture the eclipse brings to life!

Little Shop of Horrors dates back to H.G. Wells, believe it or not, whose horror piece later inspired the 1960 classic horror film, before its later campier comedy-horror musical film in 1982, starring the iconic Rick Moranis as the cute and nerdy Seymour. Since then, dozens of productions have spanned from the popular rock musical hit, all with exciting twists on the star of the show… Audrey II.

The story follows the Seymour (Oliver Mawdsley), a slightly wimpy and nerdy horticulturalist working at Mushnik’s florist alongside his crush Audrey in a rather run-down area of Skid Row NYC, where nothing comes up roses. Seymour’s idea to bring exotic plants into the shop to attract more business succeeds when he finds a strange plant that he dubs the “Audrey II”, yet he still struggles to express his feelings for the real Audrey, until he discovers the plant’s peculiar taste for blood, which becomes the root of all his problems…

This production offers a fresh and intimate take, with the checker-board tiles of the failing florist shop floor cutting against the drab exterior of skid row, with trash can and derelicts fighting and licking the shop windows.

Andrew Whitehead brings the rather despicable and manipulative Mr Mushnik to life with so much passion and rage as he heads the florist and bullies his shy “mentee”, and later adoptive son, Seymour (Oliver Mawdsley). In fact, one of the funniest sequences of the show occurred when Mushnik begs Seymour to ‘Be My Son’, leading to an awkward rose in mouth Tango between the pair that leaves Seymour cradled in a vagrant’s shopping trolley still baffled at the events that transpired.

Following the main cast are the musical trio Chiffon, Crystal and Ronnette (like the famous girl groups), played by Janna May, Zweyla Mitchell Dos Santos, and Chardai Shaw, who also played guitar, alongside performing a great parody of old rock in ‘Da Doo’, or great harmonies in most other songs.

At first, my main concern with the show was how difficult the character of Seymour is to perfect. However, Mawdsley KILLED it as Seymour, with his lovable, nerdy charm and mannerisms shining through, despite the less than angelic actions he takes, albeit being to pursue his passions for his charming co-worker, Audrey (Laura Jane Matthewson).

The delightful chemistry between the two bubbly actors was jaw-dropping, especially during their first (a little elongated) kiss, or during the heart-warming ‘Suddenly, Seymour’, which was performed with such genuine emotion and stellar vocals.

Matthewson particularly captured my heart in her poignant performance of ‘Somewhere Green’ (an ironic way of phrasing her sub-urban dream for anyone who knows how the story ends!).

Both also performed spectacularly with the ensemble in ‘Don’t Feed the Plants’, where the cast is entangled in Audrey’s vines, warning the audience about the dangers of temptation, stardom, and most importantly… giant, talking, man-eating plants!

The rather harrowing interactions between Audrey and her abusive boyfriend – and sadistic motorcycle “dentist!” – Orin (Matthew Ganley) is portrayed emotively, and the catharsis of the dentist meeting his comeuppance is certainly an impactful moment… although rather comedically done when you realise the gyrating, nitrous-oxide masked crook is still alive and kicking the next verse of ‘Now (It’s Just The Gas)’ like some crazy moment from the Scream movies!

My second concern was how well could this performance bring the iconic alien plant Audrey II to life – and would it have the same vulgar humour and blood-curdling vocals? The answer… an astounding yes! Audrey II starts off as a tiny and adorable little sprout (which I would totally buy if they had it as merch there!), before sampling Seymour’s blood and transforming into an active little hand puppet accompanying Seymour to interviews and across Skid Row. After having a larger mouth-full (pardon the dental puns), Audrey II outgrows his original pot and becomes the central human-sized attraction of the florist, drawing in crowds far and wide, before his final metamorphosis into a red-spotted and rather veiny monster, literally breaking his pot apart, while his vines and tendrils encompassed the entire florist and the NY-style fire escape above (where the majority of the live band played).

The plant’s design even included a little trapdoor of sorts that characters would be tangled or pushed into before they disappear as he chomps and slurps away at their remains (morbid but pretty cool!).

Bringing Audrey II to life were puppeteer Matthew Heywood and Vocalist Anton Stephans. Heywood did a phenomenal job of syncing the plant’s trap/mouth with Stephans’ performance, and often added comedic little body movements, head bops or (during the interval) slowly scanned the audience before occasionally swivelling to someone else to make them jump!

Meanwhile, Stephans’ vocals were so perfectly matched for the sassy plant, that I almost can’t remember the original by the late Levi Stubbs.

The duo’s appearance during the encore was an amazing insight into the behind-the-scenes folk involved in musicals like this, plus it led to an amazing final performance that had all the cast playing instruments, singing or dancing with an explosion of contagious energy that had the audience on their feet before a shower of colour, balloons and confetti… a real capitulation of the campy and exciting energy of the show – but something I did wish there was a pinch more of in some of the other numbers.

It’s hard not to praise the ingenious of this iteration of Little Shop of Horrors and the attention-to-detail for the set and costumes (TK Hay), puppets (Michael Fawkes), and acting.

While some may argue that the show doesn’t beat some of the bigger budget productions, I can honestly say that the close and intimate stage of Octagon, the small but talented cast, and the crazy antics and comedy routines made the show a one-of-a-kind, toe-tappingly rock-beauty for youngsters and bloomers alike!

Little Shop of Horrors runs at Octagon, Bolton until May 18 and tours the UK until June 22.

Photo: Pamela Raith Photography