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THIS is not a particular favourite show of mine and on Friday having been caught up in floods and traffic jams mid-day travelling to Ilkley I was not looking forward to battling forth once more to Ilkley in the evening.

Conditions were still awful and I arrived 15 minutes late only to find, luckily, that the 7.15pm start was delayed until 8pm as some cast members had also been delayed due to the weather.

It is all credit to these youngsters that when the curtain did finally go up it was business as usual at the Little Shop of Horrors'.

A plant that as it grows talks and sings, likes blood and eats people I would have thought a bit scary for the young children in the audience.

However, that is basically the story with the love elemnet between Seymour and Audrey threading through.

These youngsters with one or two guest acquitted themselves remarkably well and gave the audience an entertaining evening.

I enjoyed the performance of Matt Dallingwater as Seymour.He was a shy, innocent and appealing Seymour. His characterisation was excellent.So too was Helen Webster as Audrey. She has the nicest song in the show Somewhere That's Green' and she sang it beautifully.

Dale Chadwick was impressive as the bullying dentist/boyfriend of Audrey.

He of course ends up being fed to the plant.

Two people controlled the plant and each time I have seen the show Audrey ll has worked amazingly well.

Paul Rookes as the voice was outstanding and puppeteer Ashley Woodhouse also did an excellent job.

These two roles are very important and cannot be easy to put over.

Mushnick, owner of this rather strange shop, was played by Mark Bixby' Brown. He has some good songs, particularly Mushnick and Son' with Seymour.

He portrayed well the exasperation and confusion with the goings on around him.

Four young girls Megan Brown, Lucy Annable, Sophie Smith and Beth White more or less compere the show in the style of the Beverley Sisters. Their singing was pleasant and tuneful.

Smaller roles were played by Rachel Casper, Rachel Buller, Nick Bellwood, Georgie Hanson and Toby Gallagher.

Choreography was by Ruth Marston who also Directed.

The production was well staged and Producer on this occasion was Greg Silverwood.

Musically there was a group of five who were never seen and were at the back of the stage somewhere. They were outstanding, never too loud and always playing sympathetically when necessary with some noticably fine piano playing.

Damian Oxborough was making his debut as a Musical Director, a name to remember.

8:31am Thursday 21st June 2007

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