‘Little Shop of Horrors Leaves me Hungry for More’

I was running late when I went to see Little Shop of Horrors. After squeezing into a space the size of a pistachio in Chester Street car park, I found myself doing a competitive Parish Walk march to the theatre, making it there with three minutes to go. I tripped up the stairs then forced 7 people to stand up so I could invade their personal space as I shimmied to my seat, sitting down just as the curtain lifted. The next thing I knew it was the interval.

Usually, at some point during a show, my mind will wander to what I am going to eat afterwards. This didn’t happen in Little Shop of Horrors, ironically really, seeing as its most iconic line is ‘FEED ME.’ It’s sharp, VERY funny, and moves along at a wonderfully swift pace that held my attention every step of the way. Thus, my shock at arriving so promptly at the interval.

I was watching the show’s opening night, a prime time for mishaps as casts, crews, and bands battle their first night nerves. Here though, there were none to be seen. The confidence and conviction of everyone on stage made it look like they’d been doing the production for weeks. It was easily the slickest opening night I’ve seen in a long time.

Little Shop of Horrors is the third show by Two Feathers Productions (the first being The Full Monty, the second The Jersey Boys), which was created back in 2021 by Alex Toohey whose passion for theatre is undeniable. For an organisation still in its infancy, Toohey is raising the bar very high when it comes to the level of professionalism in productions on the Island and clearly going from strength to strength. I’m already excited for Two Feathers’ 2026 production of Come From Away BUT I’m getting ahead of myself, back to Little Shop of Horrors.

If you don’t know the story, it’s what I would imagine the result would be if Hairspray and the Rocky Horror Picture Show had a one-night stand. The music is wonderfully 60s sounding and the comedy dark. I’d only seen the 1986 film before, back in the days when a Walkman was considered high tech, so part of me was apprehensive to see if the production felt outdated. It was anything but. It gave off that soul-warming feeling of nostalgia perfectly blended with quick-paced modernity that’s difficult to get right, which is a massive testament to the excellence of Co-Directors Tara Overfield-Wilkinson and Mark Hilton.

As soon as the curtain rose, the singing from the Urchins – Lauren Molyneux, Bryony Grant, and Kathryn Toohey – knocked away any residing dust in the theatre with pipes more impressive than an industrial pipe factory. If I closed my eyes – not that I would, they were GLUED to the stage – they would have sounded right out of a 60s chart music radio show. On that note, (pun intended), the singing was spectacular all around and the songs brilliant. Each even more enjoyable than the last, flitting between catchy vintage tunes, bring-a-tear-to-your-eye ballads, and laugh out loud funny duets. (The father and son tango). All played superbly by the unsung heroes of every musical – the band. The blood red cherry on top were the ensemble numbers, each one gave me goosebumps thanks to the gorgeous harmonies of the cast.

Meg Walker and Jack Divers are spectacular as Audrey and Seymour, their acting abilities equally as impressive as their singing. Long-time treader of the boards Neil Callin is a brilliant combination of likeable and unlikeable as Mr Mushnik in his 50^th – yes, FIFTIETH – production, and Ian Manton was so impressive as the voice of Audrey II, I legitimately left the theatre saying ‘do you think they used a pre-recorded voice performance from the Broadway production for the plant?’

Speaking of ‘the plant’. The staging of Audrey II was something the likes I’ve never seen on the Gaiety stage before and no easy feat. If done wrong, it would look terrible and likely leave audience members wishing for a swift death via falling stage lamp just to end the awkwardness of the whole affair. Thank goodness puppeteer Zac Colligon did a fantastically flawless job.

The set is simple and yet transports you right into the back alleys of Skid Row in way that’s grungy, cool, and feels real with lovely attention to detail that, if you catch it, adds a satisfying level of extra substance to the show. The grunginess is contrasted spectacularly by the costumes, hair, and make up, all of which exuberate bright 60s colour, making it look like the cast had walked right out of Carnaby Street.

Now, as I’m on a limited wordcount and also don’t want to give too much away, allow me to give you some brief, personal highlights:

• Charlie Williams as Orin D.D.S and how much he reminds me of a demon dentist version of Johnny Bravo. He’s hilarious and nails the part.
• Joseph Long and his ‘WHAT A STRANGE AND UNUSUAL PLANT’ moment. I remember watching him in a Ballakermeen production of The Lion King yeeeears ago and thinking he was excellently funny in that, it’s good to see he’s still got it.
• The clever use of projection during Audrey’s heart-wrenchingly beautiful rendition of ‘Somewhere that’s Green’.
• Seymour’s ‘Spit the Dog’ moment with a young Audrey II. The brain effort that must have taken with everything else going on in that scene would have given me a seizure.
• The simple but effective use of signature, alien green lighting that always accompanies Audrey II.
• The surprise ending. I’ll say no more on that… so I don’t ruin the surprise.
• The programme. It’s excellent and full of interesting facts about the original story. (Shout out to Two Feathers founder Alex Toohey for kindly giving me one for free).

I left the Gaiety the way I always do after watching a great performance, by immediately downloading the show’s soundtrack and singing along to it on the car journey home. I can’t recommend it highly enough. The Little Shop of Horrors that is, not my singing. Although that is something that would be fitting in a little shop of horrors.

Get your tickets here.

PHOTO CRED: info@dkphotography