Torch!
New Players Theatre, London WC2
It was 23 years ago that New York actress-singer Ellen Greene got her career-defining role as Audrey, the breathy heroine of the Off Broadway musical smash, Little Shop of Horrors, which subsequently transferred to the West End with Greene once more along for the ride.
She played Audrey yet again in the 1986 film version of the show and had a further go in 1998 in London as part of Cameron Mackintosh's gala celebration, Hey Mr Producer! No wonder the woman's not a little obsessed with (and possessed by) the role.
Now she's back in London with her solo show, Torch!, and it won't surprise anyone to hear that the bubble-headed Audrey gets a workout here as well. Greene performs both her signature songs from Little Shop... ('Somewhere That's Green', 'Suddenly Seymour'), recalls its filming here at Pinewood ('Classy, huh?'), and extols the English crew rather too often for comfort. 'I was loved,' she recalls, followed later by: 'As I said, I was very loved.'
Greene directs her love, in turn, toward her Austrian pianist Christian Klikovits, who, it turns out, is also her husband. (They met, apparently, at the gym.)
That he barely returns her adoring gaze is one of the many fascinating aspects of an altogether bizarre evening which straddles camp, performance art, and self-confessional. 'Some people call this schizophrenia, I call it a career,' says Greene. Whatever you call it, Torch! certainly is unique.
· Torch! has two more performances: tonight and tomorrow at 8pm. Box office: 0870 033 2626
