"Little Shop of Horrors" - Derby Theatre

Tuesday 2nd June 2026
"Little Shop of Horrors"
Derby Theatre | Northern Stage
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5 Stars)

The theatre is filled with bursts of green, plants and lots of people dressed up. It’s so great to see so many people wanting to be involved!

The set is made up of sharp yet cartoon like pieces, with wonky street lights and angled steps. There is a lot to look at! Very visually pleasing. The set is made up of sharp yet cartoon like pieces, with wonky street lights and angled steps. There is a lot to look at! Very visually pleasing.

A stunning design by Verity Quinn! Not only did Verity design the set but also the costume. The bright greens and pink was present throughout the costumes to match the set. They were slightly more modern but fitted the characters so much, the knitted cardigan with the fur in green complimented the pink dress, giving it that cartoon like, child like feel.




To accompany the set there is LED strips along the edges. The lighting design, by KJ, was very much in keeping with style of the show, very cutsie with sudden shocking beams of light, a great way of complimenting the production.

The balance of microphones and the band started off quite quiet however in act 2 the sound was ramped up massively which had such an impact. The design itself used the theatre to its full advantage, with sound effects bouncing from left to right and using the natural acoustics amazingly, great design by Adam P McCready.

The band was made up of Sian Campbell, the musical director and keys, and Amy Gray on drums, as well as actor musicians. From the moment that ‘alarm goes off at 7’ there’s excitement in the air and then the music hits. The songs, even though I’ve heard them thousands of times before, felt FRESH!

The cast have clearly worked hard together under the direction of Sarah Brigham and dramaturg, Emma Jude Harris alongside the choreographer, Myles Brown.

Kristian Cunningham who plays Seymour so perfectly, has the nervous, shy act down to a tee. You can really see the growth in the character from his performance as act 2 he starts to go crazy and more manic and the dynamics Kristian presents are so precise in every word. I’ve seen Kristian in many roles but this is definitely up there as one of my favourites he’s done.

Audrey, played by Amena El-Kindy, is more strong willed than I’ve seen before. This is something I wasn’t sure on at the beginning but I soon realised that this is an interesting take on the ‘weak’ character, her voice is beautiful and brings such emotion throughout.

Jon Bonner, played Mr Mushnik, a stereotypical sneaky businessman. Jon brought a feel of the father figure yet strict boss, spot on for this role.

The trio of singers who narrate the story as the show goes on were perfectly cast, Emmanuella Chede as Ronnette, Shekinah McFarlane as Crystal and Chioma Uma as Chiffon. It felt like how school girls gossip telling their friends, us, the happenings of the street, in song of course and what a stunning blend of harmonies they created.

David Rankine as Orin the Dentist was another insanely great casting. He portrayed the character in such a way that your left feeling like you’re high on gas as an audience member, let alone as the character! The giggles, the flip from funny to angry, as well as the cool biker vibe he gives. I’d also like to mention the fact that he also pulled off multiple quick changes and accents, directed by Anita Gilbert, for each sales person, very entertaining.




The 2 ensemble members, Wilf Stone and Hannah Woodward added to the cast complete with instruments. The cameo roles of passer by’s really added to the scene changes.

Moving on to the most iconic plant known in theatre history, Audrey II, voiced incredibly by Tasha Dowd and operated by Ross Lennon. This duo created a character so unbelievably loveable yet hateable. 

Firstly, Tasha’s voice, such talent!! We got to see the face to the voice right at the end during the bows and encore and it just proved how difficult this character is. Being able to get those emotions and feeling across just by using a voice and a puppet is a hard task and this duo achieved this so well. Ross threw everything into the puppetry and it gave the character so much gusto with the direction of John Barber. Easily making this to be my favourite character.


Having seen this show so many times and been involved in some way, this has exceeded expectations! I had such a brilliant time. It was such a fun show. What a production! This is an easy 5 stars from me. Well done everyone!




You can catch "Little Shop of Horrors" at Derby Theatre until Saturday 20th June 2026.


Written By: Kiah Smith
📸 Pamela Raith Photography


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