Little Shop of Honors - Nothing Horrifying Here!
The Honors list for ‘contributions to entertainment’ grew quicker than the baritone plant Audrey 2 last night after the students of School 21, Stratford, hit the stage with their brand new musical: Little Shop of Horrors!
From expert 6th form performers provoking empathy, laughter and shock, to a year 7 powerhouse commanding the stage with a faultless accent and nuanced acting. There were no leads in this production, just sheer, collective brightness - perhaps even as shiny as the sounds from the professional musicians in their glamorous and equally bright, neon braces!
The auditorium
was electric from start to finish! There were powerful harmonies from The Ronettes, witty snapshots of those who struggle to live ‘DOWN ON SKID ROW’ and glitzy dance choreography always perfectly in unison. This was a production where being in the chorus was being a lead.
Far from the bin bag costumes and bumpy line retrieval’s of my day, this performance was slick and professional, like a West End warm up. The audience relentlessly hollered and whistled. They smirked and howled. They stood and applauded. And, if anything like me, felt the true, magical power of the arts. Theatre’s
ability to send ripples of love, warmth and joy into its community all through a little bit of live music, dance and story.
Showing for one more night only, The Little Shop of Horrors starts at 6pm tonight in the Hall.
Please note, the only thing horrifying about this performance was the reminder, when they all sat
crossed legged under gentle lighting, that these performers are children, some as young as 9, and they’re already taking the stage by a storm!!
Never feed the plant. Always feed, no matter how costly, the arts!
Rachel Spedding. ‘Little Shop of Horrors’. Thursday 27th of
February.