Little Shop of Horrors at the Open Air Theatre

So it's been a really long time since I wrote any blogposts which is mostly down to laziness, lack of time, and lack of inspiration. Anytime I got an idea to write a post or saw a show I wanted to review I'd let too much time pass and the inspiration and drive would dissipate. However, its been three weeks since I saw Little Shop Of Horrors at the Open Air Theater in Regent's Park and there hasn't been a single day since when I haven't thought about the show and how amazing it was! It's by far one of the best shows I've seen this year and definitely in my top 5 shows of all time now! This isn't going to be a full review of the show just because its already finished and I feel like my review would be pointless now but I am going to spend the next while gushing about how amazing everything about it was!


I was so close to letting this show slip by without seeing it but it kept on eating away at me and I knew if I didn't I would regret it. Little Shop of Horrors is one of my all time favourite movies, the songs are amazing and when I heard both Matt Willis and Vicky Vox were going to be in it as the Dentist and Audrey II respectively I freaked out. Growing up my two favourite bands were Busted and McFly so naturally I was thrilled to see Matt on the stage again (I saw him in Wicked a few years ago) and Vicky Vox has been on my radar for ages as one of the most talented and entertaining drag queens out there so I just had to see her as the Mean Green Mother from Outer Space! I was going to fly over myself to see the final matinee of the show and fly home straight after it; but a friend of mine decided she wanted to go see it too so we booked ourselves tickets to the very last evening performance which was such a phenomenal experience and definitely the best option (especially seeing as the rain caused the final matinee to be cancelled which would have broken my heart).

To start with I just want to talk about the Open Air Theatre itself as it was my first time visiting. What a stunning theatre! You walk through Regents Park which is lovely in itself but then you get to the theatre and its like you walked into a whole new world (pardon the Alan Menken joke). All the string lights and the exposed wood with a canopy of leaves over head just made such a wonderful atmosphere. And the bathrooms are stunning, which I know is weird to say but trust me, they are bloody amazing and now all I want is an exposed walkway in every bathroom I use! The auditorium itself is also wonderful. Its designed like a colloseum with the seats forming a semi circle around the stage so no matter what seat you sit in you have a great view and can clearly see whats going on. The only issue with the theatre is, as the name suggests, that it is open aired so if the weather is bad there's a chance the show could be cancelled. This looked like it was going to be the case when I was seeing Little Shop of Horrors but the crew were amazing and tried their hardest to dry off the stage so that the show could go on. They even came out mid show to dry off as there was still a slight drizzle. I feel like this theatre was the perfect choice for Little Shop of Horrors, especially for evening shows, cause as the plot of the show gets darker and darker so does the surroundings which adds so much to the atmosphere and feel of the show.

The show itself is such a wonderful story. Its completely bonkers and out there but in the most fun and entertaining way. Howard Ashman (book and lyrics) and Alan Menken (composer) are geniuses and perfectly mix the weird and wacky with the creepy and macabre with Little Shop of Horrors. The music in the show is just woeful, very fun and whimsical at times but also dark and relatable. I actually find it really hard to choose a favourite or a couple of favourite songs from the show as I literally love every single one! Its just amazing!! This production was wonderfully directed by Maria Aberg, and choreographed by Lizzi Gee. But the standout on the creative team for me has to be Tom Scutt who designed the sets and costumes! This man is a bloody god! The set design was amazing and totally set the scene from the second I walked into the auditorium and the costuming was breathtaking, especially the costumes for Audrey II. A lot of the set and the costumes were grey which made the little dollops of bright colours pop so much more. And then when Vicky Vox emerges as Audrey II its just this big wonderful mass of bright colours and craziness which sets her apart from the rest of the cast. And then at the end when the plants start taking over the world more and more green starts infesting the stage until finally during 'Finale/Dont Feed The Plants' its just a abundance of colour and bright wacky costumes and it's just f*cking marvelous and magical! Well done Mr. Scutt, well done! I cannot wait to see more sets and costumes designed by this genius! I loved his design for the costume so much that I actually did a painting of Audrey II inspired by this production which you can see here if you're interested.

The entire cast of this production was perfect! Not a single weak link in the entire company. The ensemble were extremely strong. Renne Lamb, Christina Modestou, and Seyi Omooba open the show on a high note as Chiffon, Ronnette and Crystal. And then you get to Jemima Rooper as Audrey, who manages to make the character her own with a fresh twist but also keep a note of Ellen Greene, Forbes Masson as Mr Mushnik, and Matt Willis as Orin. The cast are hilarious and wonderfully capture all the characters. But for me the two standout performances are Marc Antolin as Seymour and, obviously, Vicky Vox as Audrey II.

This was the first time I ever even heard of Marc Antolin, despite his extensive list of theatre credits, but I really hope I get to see him perform more in the future. He is an amazing actor with a fantastic voice and, like Jemima Rooper, he manages to keep an air of Rick Moranis' Seymour that people come to expect from the role but with a fresh twist. His comedic timing is on point and he really sold the character. If they ever make a new movie version of Little Shop of Horrors I really hope they cast him in the lead role.

As for Vicky Vox, she is fucking fabulous!! Its like she was born to play the role of Audrey II. To my knowledge this is the first time that Audrey II isnt just a puppet on stage but an actual human and I feel the only way you can do this successfully is by making that person someone with a whole lot of sass, character, personality, and in an amazing costume, so who better than a drag queen to play the role! Having followed Vicky's career since her DWV days I noticed that a lot of what she does on stage is what she's like all the time on any stahe and she just fits seemlessly into the story and is flawless! Her voice is just out of this world and suits the songs perfectly. Her version of 'Suppertime' was a highlight for me, especially as she was only like 4 feet from me! I cant think of anyone else who could play that part as well as she did and I hope with all my heart she does more theatre work in London so I can see her again, and again, and again!

Overall I think this production of Little Shop of Horrors was just two and a half hours of non stop entertainment and total escapism from all the bad things happening in the world right now which is exactly what theatre should be! Fingers crossed the production comes back sometime in the future!