Little Shop of Horrors

A first rate evenings entertainment. I enjoyed this show from start to finish. Front of house, were friendly, efficient and hard working. It takes a lot of time and effort to put together a three course meal for an entire audience. The meal, which was served promptly and efficiently, was most enjoyable and was complimented by a glass of good wine. (Extra bottles and glasses of wine can be purchased at very reasonable prices should you require.) I would also like to say how much I enjoyed the friendly atmosphere and the company of the people sharing our table. 

So, anyway, with the delicious meal done and dusted and the kidneys re-floated in white wine, it was time for the show. And what a show. All the humour was slick, the singing and harmonies good, the acting and the dancing a delight. A strong performance was given by every single cast member.

There are some really good songs in the score for this show, and David Williams was on top form for this production, seemingly to have a whole orchestra emanating from his electronic keyboard. His accompaniment on the keyboard was in perfect balance to singers performing on the stage.

The role of shy, nervous and insecure  Seymour, the flower shop owners assistant, was played to great effect by Chris Penn. And playing alongside Chris was  Hannah Knights who was a delight to watch as she portrayed, to perfection, the role of Audrey, a down trodden teenager from the slums of Skid Row.  Together they were just magnificent. A performance I shall long remember. But these two were not the only ones who me impressed on the night. The whole cast pulled out all the stops to produce the best production I have ever seen from the Thurton Players. It certainly knocked spots off another production of this show I saw a few weeks later. (mentioning no names of course.)

Audrey2, played by James (the voice) and Paul (the plant), were lip-synched though-out and James had the voice off to perfection. He had the audience in stitches on more than one occasion. Geoff Marriott also had lots of fun with "Orin", the evil sadistic dentist. I don't know if there was any type casting here.

There were also strong performances from the girls of Skid Row, played by Megan, Karen and Harriet, and Rodney Johnson also gave a good performance as the shop keeper, Mr Mushnick. Even the minor roles were convincingly played by all cast members.

Of course,  to complete the setting, no show is complete without scenery, costumes and lighting. A lot of thought, work and design has obviously gone into these.  I thought the set worked well with the lighting and gave smooth transitions between scenes. Also, the costumes looked good and enhanced the personality of each individual character.

A show to be proud of. Well done to everyone, and well done Ray for putting together such an outstanding production. Keep up the good work. I would like to thank everyone involved with the show for giving us such a wonderful night to remember.

Barry Parsons
The Webmaster.