Review by Claudia Cutajar

Western Arts’ rendition of “Little Shop of Horrors” was truly a delight to watch. The performances by the lead cast were engaging, entertaining, and absolutely spot on. The ensemble was used sparingly but very effectively. I found the show very easy to watch as I was never overwhelmed with too many elements on stage

A stand out performance has to be that of Guy Webster as Orin Scrivello DOS. Did someone say charisma? All Elements of Webster’s performance were infallible. His acting was comical and entrancing, his improvisational skills shining in the performance I saw, and his vocal performance was nothing short of incredible.

The two main leads of the show, Seymour and Audrey, had the most wonderful chemistry and their voices complimented each other gorgeously in the duets. John Sharp (Seymour) and Laura Harris-Rilen (Audrey) also bounced off each other seamlessly in more dialogue heavy scenes, creating a really genuine and enjoyable performance for the audience. 

The final two leads also filled their roles fantastically. Clarence Marshall, the voice behind the very impressive Audrey II puppet, managed to hit the sweet spot between ridiculously hilarious and completely intimidating perfectly, and Rory Preece who played Mr Mushnik gave it his all with his role, hitting every comic beat with his performance. 

My only real criticism would be that some of the faster singing was difficult to understand. However I don;t feel that this detracted too much from the performance as it was very rare and context was enough to inform the audience’s interpretation.

All in all, I cannot praise this show highly enough. I was completely engaged throughout the whole show and felt the casting was absolutely incredible.

Cover image courtesy of Western Arts Theatre