Sure, it would be possible to deliver a hi-tech take on Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s 1982 musical about a bloodthirsty plant – one that looks and feels more “2026”. But the B-movie aesthetic (carried over from Roger Corman’s 1960 film) is a core part of its charm, so why lose it?
Directed by Sarah Brigham for Northern Stage and Derby theatre, this is a solid production but not a sparkling one. For the most part, it revels in the low-budget, kooky absurdity of a story in which a mysterious shrub turns around the fortunes of Seymour, a flailing florist in love with his co-worker, Audrey. This version is a tad lighter on humour, and the plot’s more sensitive elements, such as Audrey’s domestic abuse, are also scaled back.
Where it’s pioneering, though, is in its use of creative captions – still a rarity in UK theatre. Caption designer Ben Glover incorporates them into the fabric of the show, making this staging accessible and good fun too, with chunky, horror movie-style lettering and cartoonish speech bubbles popping up on screens behind the action.
The chief question with any version is how to stage Audrey II – the carnivorous plant that grows from a bud into a monstrosity. Here, the role is split in two, with Tasha Dowd providing soulful vocals from off stage and Ross Lennon acting as puppeteer, manoeuvring Audrey II’s increasingly bulbous foam head from within.
Elsewhere, a cast of actor-musicians lend broad New York accents to the doo-wop and rock’n’roll favourites, including Skid Row (Downtown) and Feed Me (Git It). Kristian Cunningham’s Seymour is a study of his 1986 screen counterpart (played by Rick Moranis) and Amena El-Kindy’s Audrey is less wispy than Ellen Greene in the film. In their big joint number, Suddenly, Seymour, they burst from their timidity, each unleashing a powerful set of pipes.
Designer Verity Quinn’s colour palette is a nod to the flesh-eating flytrap. Costumes, the walls of the flower shop and the street beyond are all petal pink and stem green – a playful suggestion that the plant will indeed succeed on its quest for world domination.
• At Northern Stage, Newcastle, until 23 May. Then at Derby theatre, 30 May-20 June
