Pupils’ comic book take on flesh-eating plant musical

FIFTY-five pupils took part in a production of the musical comedy

Little Shop of Horrors at Langtree School in Woodcote.

The show tells the story of a reclusive young man named Seymour, played by Tom Canning, who finds and nurtures a mysterious plant that feeds on human blood.

His unrequited love, Audrey, was played by Freya Foster, while Rosie Toolin played flower shop owner Mushnik and Isaac Fountain played Audrey’s boyfriend Orin.

The production had a comic book theme, with backgrounds being painted by the school’s art department, while the supporting cast carried lines of dialogue written on giant cartoon-style speech bubbles.



The murderous plant, named Audrey II, was portrayed by up to 11 youngsters who played her at different levels of growth.

About a dozen young musicians accompanied the main cast, who were drawn from years seven to 10, and several pupils also ran the sound and lighting.

The musical version of

Little Shop of Horrors dates from 1982, being an adaptation of the 1960 black comedy horror film by Roger Corman.

The success of the Off-Broadway production saw it transfer to London’s West End the following year, with the stage version in turn inspiring a hit 1986 film adaptation by Frank Oz — having gone on to become the third-longest-running musical and the highest-grossing production in Off-Broadway history.

Langtree School head of drama Gill Pimm said: “The music rehearsals started in January but we only started the drama side of things about six weeks before the opening night.

“We turned it around impressively quickly. Everyone worked jolly hard and it went brilliantly — we had great audiences and lots of lovely comments.

“People were amazed at the high standard and the kids were so proud of what they achieved.”