Little Shop Of Horrors At Kings Theatre Southsea Review

Reviewed by Jan Dixon

I had the pleasure of reviewing the above show at the Kings Theatre, Southsea on the opening night of 28th June 2023. This was an amateur production produced by Paul Woolf which was based on the film by Roger Corman and screenplay by Charles Griffith.

The musical is set in the 1960’s in Skid Row, downtown America. The focus is around a rundown flower shop owned by Mr Mushnik, aided by his shop assistants Seymour and Audrey. Seymour accidentally nurtures a man-eating plant, which he purchased from a Chinese vendor. He names the plant Audrey II, after his unrequited love Audrey. The plant will only grow if fed blood, which leads to a series of ‘unfortunate accidents’ where characters mysteriously disappear and the plant dramatically expands. Interest in the shop grows, as does profit and Seymour is feted by different advertising companies. A true victim of his own success, Seymour has to face the consequences.

Three street urchins, Crystal (Marlene Hill), Ronnette (Abbie Warner) and Chiffon (Amanda May Bishop) opened the show by singing ‘Skid Row’ (Downtown) with excellent harmonies. This certainly got the audience in the mood for the performance. All of the ten cast members had songs throughout, with Audrey (Georgis Deloise) beautifully and poignantly singing ‘Somewhere That’s Green’. Seymour (Charlie Frame) was also greeted with enthusiastic applause with ‘Suddenly Seymour’ as he too demonstrated his vocal expertise, alongside Audrey. Tom Wood played the protagonist of the show, a dentist (and Audrey’s sadistic boyfriend) with such relish that the audience loved. Great singing voice and comic timing. Mr Mushnik (Peter Colley) displayed the crotchety owner of the flower shop with assurance, steering the storyline along well and eloquently singing his solos. John Bettesworth, who played various roles, adapted very well to the needs of the play, using very effective characterisations, including a down and out in the opening scene. The role of Audrey II, manipulated by Taylor Walter-Field and Euan Millar, and voiced by Stuart Warner, was truly brilliant and capitvated the audience; rightly so, as this was the focus of the story. Mention must of course be made of the excellent Band, providing the musical accompaniment, which consisted of Kim Seagrove (Conductor/Piano); Daniel Brown (Piano), Joel Colyer (Keys), Harry Weeks (Guitar, Jason Beaumont (Bass) and Chris Buck (Drums). They were faultless and a perfect underlay for the performance.

I would thoroughly recommend this show and guarantee you will have a brilliant evening of entertainment. You will definitely appreciate the professional standard of the vocalists, band and crew. A well-deserved standing ovation was given to the cast and team, followed by an extra performance by Stuart Warner who sang as himself, not Audrey II. Cheers abounded!

Rating: This is very much worth a 5 star rating.

The show is on Wednesday 28th June 2023 until Saturday 1st July 2023

Tickets cost from £10.00

For more information or to book tickets please visit Little Shop of Horrors – Kings Theatre Portsmouth (kingsportsmouth.co.uk)