Little Shop of Horrors at Ipswich’s New Wolsey Theatre and on tour – review

Little Shop of Horrors has become a beloved cult classic over the years, starting life as a film in 1960 and a later-turned musical in 1982, and subsequently a movie musical in 1986 – which begs the question, what is it about this blood-sucking plant that keeps itself so fresh and alive? The answer is simply that this mean green monster delivers a brilliant stage comedy and a great night out.

In a small flower shop Downtown on Skid Row, we find nerdy florist assistant Seymour, who is down on his luck as Mr Mushnik’s business is struggling to make any sales – that is until he stumbles upon a mysterious new plant with a quirkiness that could just give the shop the boost it needs.

While fame and fortune come calling and dreams come true for Seymour after this mystery plant begins to grow and word gets around town, it leaves him questioning at what cost is this success worth and can he keep the insatiable appetite of his carnivorous new friend under control.

This sci-fi-inspired tale taps into the utterly ridiculous and nonsensical – but this is exactly what a good musical comedy should be. While there are hazes of reality lurking in the text, it mostly takes you away from the outside world entirely and is filled with innuendo, attitude, humour and charm throughout. Howard Ashman’s book deserves to be up there with the giants of musical theatre as one of the best of its kind, and this production’s direction by Lotte Wakeham near-enough nails it.

Composer Alan Menken and Ashman’s witty 1960s rock’n’roll, doo-wop and Motown-infused original score gets your toes tapping and sides splitting; and is brilliantly brought to life by multi-talented actor-musicians under the musical direction of Gabrielle Ball. “Dentist!” is undoubtedly one of the best numbers in the show, for both its horror and humour – and it was executed perfectly by Matthew Ganley as the deranged Orin Scrivello. “Suddenly, Seymour” is a song that has been sung many times worldwide, yet Laura Jane Matthewson’s Audrey and Oliver Mawdsley’s Seymour have breathed fresh air into a show tune classic, bringing these two iconic characters to life beautifully. 

Anton Stephans is pitch-perfect throughout as the soulful, bassy and villainous voice of Audrey II and his “Feed Me (Git It)” certainly gets the spine tingling. At times, the puppeteering felt slightly out of sync with the speech – but credit where it’s due for Matthew Heywood in bringing the plant to life.

Audrey II was the one piece where the design lacked slightly as the versions in act one felt unfinished and some of the death sequences were somewhat underwhelming. The act two version was much more visually impressive, but there was noticeable room for improvement. However, designer TK Hay has evidently worked closely with lighting designer Nic Farman to create a perfectly eerie atmosphere.

Bonkers and brilliant, it’s easy to see why this cult classic continues to devilishly delight audiences, and this New Wolsey co-production is one of their best to date.