Made by Exeter Northcott in association with Lighthouse Poole and Coventry Belgrade Theatre present their adaptation of Little Shop of HORRORS. As I arrived at the theatre, I noticed some of the audience were carrying soft toy versions of Audrey 2 and were absolutely committed to their night out.
Scott McClure plays the florist Seymour, who works in a shop whose business is almost non-existent. However, unbeknown to his boss, Mr Mushnik (Andrew Whitehead), Seymour had bought a rare plant on his travels and has been nurturing it in the stockroom. Could this turn the business around for them?
Despite Seymour reading all the plant books, he cannot identify what species Audrey 2 is. As she grows, he realises that she has an appetite for an unusual plant food that leads him to go to extremes to feed her.
This musical has a love story running through it between Seymour and Audrey (Leigh Quinn), although in the beginning, Audrey is in a relationship with narcissistic dentist Orin Scrivello (Ross Clifton) whose handy with his fists and temper. Clifton portrayed him perfectly as the loathsome bully who made my skin crawl. Who gets his comeuppance.
The star of the show is Audrey 2, the carnivorous plant whose centre of the musical is voiced by Dashaun Vegas. The puppetry speaking timing is superb, and it’s easy to suspend your disbelief that Audrey 2 is actually coming to life.
The ensemble cast will change at each venue to incorporate local actors and dancers. Considering it was opening night, they all did very well and appeared to be really enjoying themselves.
This production is full of iconic songs accompanied by an excellent live band quartet Simon Carter, Gary Evans, David Jones, and Jim Rintoul. Director Martin Berry has done a really good job bringing this iconic comedy horror to the stage with the excellent creative team.
For more information about Little Shop of HORRORS and future productions at Lighthouse Poole, please use the link below.
Four Stars.
Photo credit Craig Fuller.
Playing from 20th-24th October 2026.
Just remember: whatever they offer you, don’t feed the plants!
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