QPAC and Woodward Productions have propagated a killer production of the iconic cult musical Little Shop of Horrors, skilfully honed with a superb cast and horrifically effective puppetry.

Rooted in horror, Howard Ashman’s 1982 off-off-Broadway smash hit was adapted from Roger Corman’s original 1960s film, epitomising the shadows cast by life on Skid Row, contrasted with the wide-eyed optimism of the American Dream.

Director Alister Smith feeds that dream (and Audrey II, the carnivorous plant) with a Faustian twist in a brilliant production dripping with black humour and blood. Alex Woodward, founder of Woodward Productions, thrives with off-the-wall comedies, having recently produced the hilarious The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged).

Bryan Probets and Maxwell Simon in Little Shop of Horrors. Photo © Joel Devereux

Maxwell Simon deftly plays the naïve, orphaned Seymour, working with a cutesy Marilyn Monroe-styled Audrey (Kirby Burgess) at Mr Mushnik’s failing flower shop on Skid Row. After a solar eclipse, his chance purchase of a unique plant transforms their lives with fame and fortune – but, as always, there is a cost when the voracious...