The Landor Theatre, Clapham.
Saturday 2 June 2001
How do I go about writing a review that will give you the slightest idea what a superb production this is! Set above a pub in Clapham doesn't normally make you feel like it's going to be any good, but you'd be wrong to think that here. The theatre seats 50 and it was full, the set was painted in two sections, inside the shop and outside. The Backdrops were painted directly onto the walls, which made you more apart the show.
All the cast were amazing, they all had such powerful voices, from Paul Tate, who not only is the Producer and Artistic Director but also stood in as Mr Mushnik, who played the part very well. To Sarah-Jane Boune, the shy Audrey who gets bullied by her strange Dentist boyfriend Orin, Richard portrays Orin brilliantly, from the minute he waltzes into the room dressed as a biker, to when he's in the dental surgery getting high on gas, where he goes completely mad and can't stop laughing. Even as he dies he laughs, I've seen Richard in many roles before, but this has got to be the funniest! Although playing an evil person, he does it wonderfully.
Seymour is played by Chris Vincent, who is responsible for Audrey II the man eating, talking plant. Seymour becomes a murderer as he needs to feed the plant, and Richard becomes his first victim as Seymour leaves him to get too much gas, then proceeds to feed Audrey II Orin's body. In return the plant sees to it that Seymour gets Audrey and that Mushnik adopts him and they all get more and more customers.
Richard played one more character Bernstein, who was hilarious! He offered Seymour a TV show on gardening. By the end of the show most of the characters had been eaten by Audrey II and it was growing bigger. At the end someone took clippings of the plant and so more and more people became victims of the plants.
Everyone played there parts well, I've only picked out a few, I could list them all, I will mention two people though and thats Mark Edison who operated Audrey II, he did a fantastic job and looked totally worn out by the end of the show! and John Danbury for the great voice of Audrey II.
It was a really good show, the orchestra were brilliant and the whole cast seemded to get on well together. They all had superb voices. I can now see why the reviewers from Time Out and The Stage picked out Richard, you can't forget the image of him laughing like mad, whilst you laugh along with him. How Chris Vincent could stand there and not laugh I do not know.
I'd go again if I could!!
Tanith
F.C.S.
Until Saturday 9 June 2001
