No matter what they offer you, don’t feed the plants!
If you understand this reference, you’ll want to buy your tickets for Hawker College’s 2025 musical, Little Shop of Horrors.
If you don’t understand that reference, you’ll still want to buy your tickets, because this may be the most entertaining and surprising musical you’ll see.
Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s beloved sci-fi smash musical follows the story of a meek flower shop assistant Seymour and his adventures with a talking plant who has the power to gift him whatever he wants, but at a deadly and bloody cost …
Ahead of opening night on Thursday, I got a sneak peek at Act Two, and I can say with full confidence that it’s shaping up to be a very captivating performance.
While I can’t speak for Act One, the show will certainly kick off with a bang after the intermission.
You’ll be transported to Skid Row and Mushnik’s Flower Shop, thanks to some expertly placed props and hidden references on the rubbish.
Toby Breach takes on the role of Seymour and brings the character to life in a dynamic and refreshing way, with a wide range of emotions coming out throughout the show.
Piper Mitry takes the stage beside him as Audrey, with vocals that captivate and are sure to give you chills, particularly in ‘Suddenly, Seymour’.
Toby, Piper and the rest of the cast have been working on the musical since March, when auditions were held.
“Rehearsals have been tough at times. There are so many elements of the show like needing such an alive set that can work with us as actors,” Toby said.
“There was so much improvised blocking with the props because we didn’t have a lot of the props until recently, so I’d be grabbing a fistful of air pretending it’s a plant,” Piper added.
Their roles may have been manifested, with Toby and Piper doing a dream cast before auditions happened.
“I actually got on a Spotify Jam with Toby one night and he was like ‘Piper you have to listen to this specific recording and all these specific songs’, because before auditions even happened, we were like ‘this is our dream cast,’” Piper said.
Thanks to a talented group of Year 11s and 12s, the roles of Mr Mushnik and Orin (the dentist) are double cast to give the actors time to shine.
Luke Lampard and Jack Simpson share the role of Mushnik, and both have enjoyed the process in developing their character.
“I realised the day of the audition that I had to probably do an accent and so I spent the entirety of my maths class learning how to do a Boston accent by watching YouTube videos and then trying to work on it from there,” Jack said.
I got to see Luke taking on the role of Mushnik in my visit and was impressed by his strong characterisation! Here was a version of Mushnik that I was not familiar with and yet was just as endearingly irritating as ever.
Luke moved to Hawker College at the start of this year, so he said auditions were his chance to share his talent with director Sian Harrington.
“[Auditions] were a lot – it was probably the most anxious I have ever been for an audition because not only was it a big show and I was going for a big role but no one knew who I was and everyone knew who the rest of the auditionees are,” Luke said.
Throughout Act Two, I was consistently pleased by how immersive the performance was.
While this was in part because of the actors’ abilities, it was also credit to the blocking.
Without giving too much away, at points throughout the show characters appear from parts of the theatre you wouldn’t expect …
This is incredibly noticeable in the final number, ‘Don’t Feed the Plants’ which had me smiling all the way through the grisly warning.
But what would this show be without the incredible lighting?
Corey Ireland is one of the lighting technicians behind it all.
“We went through thinking about what colours we wanted, looking through the script and coming up with basic ideas,” Corey said.
While green lights are common on the stage, Corey says they used other colours to capture the intensity of the show.
“Not necessarily neon, but that bright sickly effect. That’s why there’s a lot of pink and red.”
“During all of the deaths, it’s going to be red.”
Another key part to it all is the work between director Sian Harrington and technical director Andrew Campbell who have been busy since Term Four last year.
“Term One, whilst [the cast] weren’t doing anything but auditioning and getting their roles, we had to start the process of looking at what we have and what we need,” Sian said.
“We got the plant from Dramatic Productions at the end of Term Four last year so we had to go and pick that up, work out when we’ll put it together … sort out what our posters are going to look like. There’s so many jobs that happen in the beginning of the year.”
From a technical perspective, Andrew recalls how his students have also been working behind the scenes for a while preparing.
“There’s been a lot of liaising [with the students] in terms of the style and design … of the set and the lighting.”
“It’s been a long process but I think it’s really great that we’ve had the time to do it.”
As for the casting process, Sian and Andrew agree it was challenging – simply because there was so many people ready to perform!
And after witnessing a rehearsal, I can confirm there is a high standard of talent on stage.
A strong and lively ensemble round out the cast, and help lift the energy on stage in crucial moments.
Crystal (Victoria Brown), Chiffon (Sanvi Valsangikar) and Ronette (Elke Yee) bring a light-hearted touch to the show. The trio play to each other’s strengths, creating a cheeky group which helps keep the show moving.
The plant, Audrey II, is voiced by Santos Bouzas – a wildcard in the mix.
“I’d already chatted to [Santos before the auditions] … about if he’d be interested … He rocked up and blew us away,” Andrew said.
“As soon as he opened his mouth, we were like ‘and there’s the plant’, so that was amazing to come out of nowhere. You never know who you’re going to get,” Sian continues.
And what a voice indeed! Santos’ booming and rich voice fills the theatre and brings the plant to life.
The dynamic between Seymour and Audrey II is powerful, a credit to the actors who have established a strong connection between their characters.
While I may be biased (with Little Shop being one of my favourite musicals), Hawker College has pulled together another entertaining performance.
If you’re still not convinced, I’ll leave you with a handful of words from the cast describing the play …
- Energetic – Piper Mitry (Audrey)
- Carnivorous – Luke Lampard (Mushnik)
- Green – Jack Simpson (Mushnik)
- Unpredictable – Toby Breach (Seymour)
- Chaotic – Technical Director Andrew Campbell
- Terribly horrifying – Director Sian Harrington
Original photos by Tia Priest-Willimott