Review: Little Shop of Horrors, at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton

One of my favourite musicals of all time, and I am talking about Top 3 favourite here, is Little Shop of Horrors, Howard Ashman and Alan Menken's masterpiece about a man-eating plan causing insanity. 

So imagine my delight when I heard that it was not only being revived at my home theatre, the Bolton Octagon, but that it was playing during my birthday celebrations: well that's me turning 32 sorted! 

I must say before going into the show itself that my family, best friend and I ate at the Bar & Kitchen in the Octagon before the show, and the food was delicious! 

When I saw first saw the film at 18, it blew my mind. I then saw the Royal Exchange's production over Christmas 2014, and it remains one of the best shows I have ever seen. I mention it in my very first piece on this channel (gulp!). I am of course NOT going to compare the two, you will be happy to hear. 

The Little Shop of Horrors can be found on Skid Row, a little flower shop by the name of Mushnik

One of the flower shop's employees, the nerdy Seymour, finds a strange an unusual plant he calls an Audrey II, named after his crush. He quickly realises the plant feeds on human blood to survive; and what follows is a camp, clever take on the Faust legend, in which Audrey II manipulates Seymour down a dark road to chaos. 

This is one reason I love this show so much; as you get older, you realise more how smart it actually is - but there are video essays out there on YouTube that can explain it a lot better than I can. 

Another reason Little Shop is beloved by so many is that it has a bit of everything: campiness, darkness and heart 

Bolton's Little Shop leant a bit more into the campy element and honouring its B-movie origins but no one minded one bit. 

Everyone in the cast looked like they were having a blast to be in this company: from the urchin group of Janna May, Zweyla Mitchell dos Santos and Chardai Shaw, who were also part of of the on-stage band: to Andrew Whitehead's blustering Mr Mushnik

And especially Charlie Ryan, who was covering the part of Orin Scrivello, and who blew the audience away on his laughing gas. I must admit that he my family's favourite performance. 

Laura Jane Matthewson is a highlight as Audrey, giving the show heart; it is ultimately she who you are rooting for to have a happy ending, especially after her big song, Somewhere That's Green. 

Hi Twoey! Please don't eat me!

Let's face it though, the star of Little Shop is Audrey II 

I was struck by how slick the teamwork was between puppeteer Matthew Heywood, and Anton Stephans, who provided the sultry voice. 

With one of them being stuck in a puppet, another stuck in a booth offstage, being in synch to provide this larger than life character is a marvel. Especially as, if you know the story, you are waiting anticipation for the plant to start talking in Feed Me - and then for the kills. None of it disappoints. 

And then if Twoey hadn't already taken over the theatre, they end on Mean Green Mother from Outer Space (which was written for the film); the icing on top of a delicious cake. 

Despite it being about a man eating plant, Little Shop of Horrors, is one of the most fun experiences you can have. And it is performed best in an intimate space such as the Octagon. 

This production also played at the New Wolesley Theatre, and the Theatre By The Lake in Keswick, and will be moving on to Hull next - so if you're local to Hull, I would recommend booking tickets. 

And if you're in the Bolton area, you've got one more week to try and escape Twoey's clutches - I promise, whether you make it out alive or not, you will have a great time!