Little Shop of Horrors – Northern Stage, Newcastle

Music: Alan Menken  

Book  and Lyrics: Howard Ashman 

Based on the Roger Corman Film with Screenplay by Charles Griffith 

Director: Sarah Brigham

Before they helped revitalise Disney feature animation by writing the songs for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, Howard Ashman and Alan Menken collaborated on a bizarre little Off-Off-Broadway musical based on a super low-budget schlock horror movie. In the intervening 44 years, Little Shop of Horrors has become a phenomenon with several (On) Broadway and West End productions, as well as countless other tours and amateur productions all over the world, as well as the wonderful 1986 movie version.

A Faustian tale of a lowly flower shop worker who discovers a strange and unusual new form of plantlife that turns out to be a flesh-eating alien planning world domination, Little Shop of Horrors is a perfect combination of Menken’s genius tunes and Ashman’s clever and witty lyrics and script that massively improves that of the original 1960 film. Ashman’s work on this (as well as his enormous involvement in the story development of his Disney projects) make his early death in 1991 particularly tragic considering what amazing work the world missed out on.

The cast embody their roles very well. Kristian Cunningham has the required charm to make Seymour an extremely likeable nerd, and his moves from put-upon slob to manipulated stooge to focussed avenger are smooth and believable. Amena El-Kindy smartly avoids the trap of impersonating Ellen Green as Audrey and brings a much more believable characterisation, allowing her abusive relationship and small-scale dreams to ring a real note of sincerity and sadness. Her vocals are superb and both Somewhere That’s Green and Suddenly Seymour are musical highlights, the latter having Cunningham’s vocals blending perfectly in this iconic duet. David Rankine’s odious Orin Scrivello is a hilarious blend of Elvis Presley strutting and Jim Carey weirdness, giving this masochistic dentist some of the funniest sequences in the show. Jon Bonner plays Mushnik with less than the expected level of broad caricature and subsequently makes less impression than his co-stars. Similarly, the Greek chorus of Ronnette, Crystal and Chiffon (Emmanuella Chede, Shekinah McFarlane and Chioma Uma) while very good, seem too busy playing musical instruments to deliver the required 50s girl group aesthetic.  

Of course, the star of the show is the blood-craving, wise-cracking alien plant. This Audrey II has the traditional design and is an excellent feat of both construction and performance. Ross Lennon brilliantly manipulates the tendrils and snapping mouth, always being perfectly in synch with the vocals and creating real dynamism even in the final, enormous version of the character. A big departure from tradition in the production is to cast a female voice for Audrey II and, although it takes a little getting used to, Tasha Dowd does an excellent job and dispels any doubts as she launches into pleas of “feed me!”

This production comes courtesy of a collaboration between Northern Stage and Derby Theatre Productions (it moves to Derby Theatre at the end of this month) and boasts excellent production values. Verity Quinn’s effective static set allows transitions via flying flats, nicely complimented by KJ’s lighting and Ben Glover’s quirky “creative captions” that have the entire script and lyrics appear throughout the entire show, as well as the occasional speech bubble and comic-book inspired sound effect art. Although Sarah Brigham’s direction is perhaps a little reserved for such a broad piece of theatre, with some of the humour lost in its earnestness, the piece is strong enough to still manage to generate a good number of laughs and an overall feelgood atmosphere.

While there are small holes to pick in this production, Little Shop of Horrors is still a big recommendation. This is the perfect show for both musical theatre lovers and newbies alike, and regardless of the subject matter, it really is fun for all the family. 

Runs until 23rd May 2026