SUPAS’ Little Shop Of Horrors – 27 November 2025, University Drama Studio
Review by Claire Taranaski.
I have a confession, I have seen Little Shop Of Horrors on stage more than any other musical (so much so that I have lost count and this is the second time I have seen it this year) and it is firmly in my top two musicals of all time, so I know what I’m looking for in a production of this cult horror comedic romance musical. Sheffield University Performing Arts Society (SUPAS) more than delivered with a production that is up there with the best of them and whether you were a long time fan or a student new to the show, the entire audience and cast were having a great time.
One of my essentials for a production of the show is the performance Audrey’s dentist boyfriend Orin Scrivello and Evan Donninger’s interpretation may be one of my favourites. Whilst in the movie version of the musical the role is performed by Steve Martin, Evan seemed to brilliantly channel a young Bruce Campbell. Evan had amazing stage presence, charisma and comic timing, his rendition of “Dentist” was spot on and he made “Now (It’s Just The Gas)” his own. Evan then came back in the second half as multiple characters in the number “The Meek Shall Inherit”, each with their own personality and some of the quickest costume changes I have seen (this could act as a three minute audition take for all his future theatre roles). On the subject of musical numbers acting as audition pieces, “Mushnik and Son” was this for Harvey Albaddous as Mr Mushnik, showcasing his vocal, dancing and comic talents and making me long to see him as Tevye in a production of Fiddler On The Roof.
Another essential of this show for me is that Audrey’s (performed by Lucy Thickett) performance of “Somewhere That’s Green” has to bring a tear to my eye and Lucy’s wonderful, emotion filled performance delivered, with later her duet with Seymour played by Tom Harvey “Suddenly, Seymour” led to me shredding that tear. The slow building chemistry between the two felt genuine and their harmonies and coordination on act two opener “Call Back In The Morning” were crisp and felt straight out of an old school Hollywood film musical. Tom in the lead role was like a nerdy Buddy Holly and his stage presence and chemistry with Audrey II, even at the small puppet stage, in “Grow For Me” was a delight to witness.
My third essential for the show, is a memorable and superb Audrey II. Sheffield Theatres brought this to a new level last Christmas by casting drag queen Sam Buttery in the role and SUPAS evolved this to a further level with the first female Audrey II, played with attitude and soul diva-ness by Alicia Adeleye. I don’t know why anyone has not thought of this before as it sparks the idea of the femme fatal luring men to their deaths. In a similar way to Sheffield Theatres, the production team have also chosen to move the audience away from the plant puppet to focus on the glamourous personality inside.
I must now give a shout out to Lola Jones (who brought me to mind of a young Anne Hathaway), Izzy Woolcott and Lucy Ellinor as Crystal, Chiffon and Ronnette, who acting as the Greek chorus of the show, and had the difficult task of opening the production but did so wonderfully with superb vocals, harmony and choreography from the prologue and throughout. Their bond also shone through and their chemistry with the other characters, especially their friendship with Audrey.
On the subject of harmonies and choreography, these were fun and brilliantly achieved throughout and were standouts in the full company numbers, especially “Skid Row” (the zombie like dance moves capturing the strain on life of living there). Choreographer Abby Lever and musical director Coby Brown and assistant musical director Charlie Harmer must be praised for this. This is also the right moment to mention the band, who might have been out of sight for the production, but provided the perfect musical accompaniment and balance, never being overpowering, which is surprisingly difficult to achieve.
The other member of the production team I must mention is director Orlaith Day, whose direction got the very best out of the cast and the stage and brought new ideas successfully to the show. From the senior tech team I must mention Lucy Davies for her set design, you could immediately tell what musical you were about to see, it may be one of my favourite SUPAS sets to date and I loved that you literally had to go “downtown” on stage to a lower level to be on “Skid Row”; Charley Moffatt as propmaster not only for the smaller Audrey II’s but the wonderfully decapitated body of Orin Scrivello; and the professional lighting of Aggie Bos that felt up there with professional musical theatre and again captured the griminess of Skid Row against the glamour of Audrey II and sound engineer Phil Saxby for faultless sound quality throughout.
In short, SUPAS’s production of Little Shop Of Horrors should not be missed by fans of the musical old and new, though going by the sold out venue last night you may struggle to get a ticket, just remember don’t feed the plants.
