Review: Little Shop Of Horrors (UK Tour) at the New Wimbledon Theatre

Little Shop Of Horrors (UK Tour)

New Wimbledon Theatre

Reviewed on Tuesday 23rd August 2016

★★★★

Despite knowing half the score inside out, last night was my first time seeing Alan Menken and Howard Ashman's cult musical Little Shop of Horrors onstage.

Little Shop is one of the craziest musicals ever written - there's no doubt about it. The piece centres around flower shop assistant Seymour who finds overnight fame after discovering an unusual plant with a mind of its own which he uses to try and win over his colleague Audrey.

Tara Wilkinson's revival, which began its tour earlier this month and continues for the rest of the year, is compact and cheerful, but thankfully not too minimalistic (although it's a shame there's not more growth for the plant). Performing in extreme heat, the small cast gave their all and embraced the piece's quirky style.

The stand out performance is given by Sam Lupton as Seymour; fresh from playing Boq in Wicked for three years, it's great to see Lupton in a role which gives him greater opportunity to show off his talents. His vocals are top notch and his comedic timing is spot on.

Stephanie Clift is endearing as Audrey whilst Rhydian Roberts is well cast as the weird and wacky Dentist. Sasha Latoya, Vanessa Fisher and Cassie Clare are on hand with some diva vocals whilst the plant team (puppeteering by Josh Wilmott and voice by Neil Nicholas) do a terrific job.

Whilst the moral of the story may be a little twisted, Little Shop is a fun show - there's nothing else quite like it. It's a cult classic and well worth a look.

Reviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)

Little Shop Of Horrors tour the UK until Saturday 26th November 2016.

Please visit www.littleshopuktour.com for further information and tickets.

Photo Credit: Matt Martin