Little Shop of Horrors

A warm late summer evening in September saw us strolling back to Leicester's Curve Theatre, a theatre I find new things to marvel at every visit. We took our seats right at the back of the circle, the only seats we could get at short notice. There were just 4 seats unsold and this was the first night of the week.
When we get touring productions of London shows here in the provinces we expect the productions to be pared down to take account of the fact that a show will be in Leicester one week, Nottingham the next and Northampton the next.
When the production has started off at the prestigous Menier Chocolate Factory, a bijou dinner and theater establishment with a cult following among the cutural intelligentsia of London, you expect a high standard of performance but a less than elaborate staging. How wrong we were and how pleasantly surprised we were.
As the evening unfolded it was obvious that the complicated set was in danger of outshining the performances. However, a largely unknown cast more than held their own, despite some initial problems with sound levels. By the time the first number had set the scene for the story the sound was spot on. The only cast member who looked slightly uncomfortable was Alex Ferns (Trevor from Eastenders), in the OTT role of the dentist. Broad comedy is perhaps something that Mr Ferns needs a little more practice in. However, this minor deficiency was not enough to spoil the production and it was heartening to see so many teenagers in enjoying live theater.

© Paul Towers 8/9/2009