 Alien plant horror musical is blooming marvellous |
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Tuesday, February 17 2009 @ 08:39 AM UTC
Author: RussB. Views: 63
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Brighton Theatre Royal � Little Shop of Horrors
While not by any means a sell-out, it was a hugely enthusiastic crowd
that welcomed Little Shop of Horrors to the Theatre Royal on Monday.
The tongue-in-cheek musical based on Roger Corman's classic 1959
B-movie certainly delivered a high quality evening's entertainment,
with a stack of class performances from its talented cast.
A lovely period set got everyone in the mood, as hobos and street girls established the vibe for Skid Row, and the superbly voiced Ronettes (Nadia Di Mambro, Cathryn Davis and Donna Hines) kicked proceedings off.
The trio's powerful voices, superb harmonies and street-wise persona were one of the highlights of the evening.
Former Doctor Who Sylvester McCoy put in a delightful character performance as Mushnik, failing owner of the Skid Row flower shop, and while his voice was often no more than adequate, he more than made up for it with his timing and stagecraft.
Clare Buckfield, star of Dancing on Ice and best known for her role in 2Point4 Children, was excellent as blonde bombshell Audrey, flower shop worker and abused girlfriend of sadistic dentist Orin Scrivello (Alex Ferns). She had a strong singing voice and brought real presence to the role.
Damian Humbley did a great job as Seymour, the downtrodden shop lad who discovers an alien plant he christens Audrey II as a tribute to the object of his affections. My only quibble with him was that he didn't really look geeky enough to play the Seymour part, but I guess no-one's likely to match the Rick Moranis geek look.
Alex Ferns was superb as the pain-loving dentist Orin Scrivello - although it's such a peach of a part you wonder who wouldn't relish playing it - and also gets the chance to deliver some quick-change character parts later in the piece as the plant's fame grows as fast as its hunger.
Audrey II was voiced powerfully by Clive Rowe - fantastic singing voice - and his pupeteers Andy Heath, Brian Herring and Iestyn Evans deserve special mention as the alient plant grows to take over the stage in monstrous style.
Fantastic music from the band, and a lovely revolving set added to the show and left the audience clapping along with the theme song at the end.
This is a superb production that deserves packed audiences - don't miss it!
Russ Bravo
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