Little Shop of Horrors review – a mixed bouquet of kooky romance, doo-wop and wild B-movie

Northern Stage, Newcastle
This revival of the carnivorous plant caper showcases strong voices, incorporates playful designs and splits Audrey II in two

Sure, it would be possible to deliver a hi-tech take on Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s 1982 musical about a bloodthirsty plant – one that looks and feels more “2026”. But the B-movie aesthetic (carried over from Roger Corman’s 1960 film) is a core part of its charm, so why lose it?

Directed by Sarah Brigham for Northern Stage and Derby theatre, this is a solid production but not a sparkling one. For the most part, it revels in the low-budget, kooky absurdity of a story in which a mysterious shrub turns around the fortunes of Seymour, a flailing florist in love with his co-worker, Audrey. This version is a tad lighter on humour, and the plot’s more sensitive elements, such as Audrey’s domestic abuse, are also scaled back.