REVIEW: Little Shop of Horrors
Lee Holt reviews Little Shop of Horrors, The Bear Pit, 14th April
Dynamik Theatre's Little Shop of Horrors was opened by Nina Rose Naylor, Katy Reynard and Tany Cleary playing the roles of three young ladies who were a consistent and welcomed presence throughout the show; their obvious energy and perfect harmonies made the opening title number thoroughly enjoyable and set the pace.
The theatre itself housed a meticulous and creatively built set that paved the way to the true authenticity of Skid Row; the centre piece being the shop itself, Mushnik Florists. The owner, Mushnik, played plausibly by Michael Day, cares for riches, success and little else. He spends his days expelling his bad moods upon the delicate and vulnerable characters, Seymour and Audrey, undertaken by George Sothcott and Jericho Taylor respectively. All seems lost until Seymour presents his newfound creation, Audrey II, aptly named after the co-worker he is fervently in love with. The exotic and rather strange plant immediately attracts world-wide attention and gains much renown for the little shop; though the dark secret of its true ‘diet’ was a burden for Seymour alone to bear!
All aspects of the show continued to dazzle the audience throughout, though it must be said that at the centre of that awe was George and Jericho in their character roles; you were routing for them from the start and felt every emotion they were experiencing. Another person worthy of note is Josh Harper who played the arrogant, sadistic dentist and boyfriend of Audrey; viewers hated him for his cruel personality, but also loved him for his infinite flare and charisma! The climactic moment of the show, however, was the duet of Suddenly Seymour; again, George and Jericho exceeded here and their voices combined were both powerful and beautiful.
The entire show was created and directed with obvious passion and talent, full credit to Jamie Poxon and his whole team; especially to the orchestra who quite rightly appeared at the end for their bow.
Dynamik Theatre produced a spectacle; a true testament to creativity considering the lack of space in such a small performance area. ‘A Little Shop of Horrors’ swiftly became ‘A Little Theatre of Wonders!’
