BY
'It takes a Greenhouse'
Welcome to tonight's performance of the Off-Broadway Classic Little Shop of Horrors - the story of one man and his adorable carnivorous pot plant.
Based on Hollywood B-Movies of the 1950s, Little Shop was first staged in New York on the 6th of May 1992 and has since been staged hundreds of times around the world, as well as being turned into a film in 1986 starring Rick Moranis and Steve Martin. It is currently running offBroadway at the Westview Theatre and that production has featured performances by performers such as Jonathan Groff, Evan Rachel Wood, and Ben Platt.
Tonight’s performance departs a little from the usual staging of Audrey 2 – Seymour’s bloodthirsty plant – in a way that will become clear shortly before the interval (I won’t spoil it here, but have to acknowledge a debt to the amazing 2018 production at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre directed by Tim Sheader and designed by Tom Scutt as they were definitely our inspiration). As ever, it has been a huge pleasure to work with award-winning Strathallan alumnus Oli Beetschen and former Head of English Jim Salisbury in creating the world you see onstage.
The students have worked incredibly hard over an intense term to bring you this show and we could not be more proud of them. In the cast and crew, we have seasoned Strath Drama players and those for whom this is their first bite of the cherry. Performance gives so much to any community and working on these shows gives the students such a sense of empathy and teamwork, as well as confidence and the chance to shine. The leads here are glittering but please also watch out for our amazing ensemble who have given so much and who are so brilliant, and for the crew, who you hopefully will barely see but who are beavering away backstage to make sure that all the magic happens. Every student involved in this show is vital and equally important to the process. They are all so valued, seen, and appreciated. We hope they have all had fun and we hope that you do too!
So sit back, relax, and enjoy the story of the rise of a new world order, full of Strath-Aliens!
Bronwen Carr-Bates (Director)