A West End star will lead the cast of the cult musical Little Shop of Horrors when the hit show arrives at Northern Stage this spring.
Stage and screen performer Amena El-Kindy, best known for playing Éponine in the West End production of Les Misérables, will star as Audrey in a major new co-production between Northern Stage and Derby Theatre. She will appear alongside Kristian Cunningham as Seymour, the shy florist whose discovery of a mysterious plant
Amena’s most recent credits include appearing as Éponine in the West End production of Les Misérables, with previous credits including Beautiful – The Carole King Musical UK Tour and Robin Hood: The Legend for Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. Kristian’s credits include Dick Whittington for Derby LIVE at Derby Arena and various pantomimes for Little Wolf Entertainment plus Everybody’s Talking About Jamie for KTCo and Blonde: Marilyn Monroe Musical.
Joining Amena and Kristian will be: Emmanuella Chede as Ronnette (Paw Patrol Live! The Great Pirate Adventure Arena Tour and Side Show In Concert for London Palladium); Shekinah Mcfarlane as Crystal (UK tours of SIX the Musical, 50th anniversary production of Hair the Musical and semi-finalist on ITV’s The Voice) andChioma Uma as Chiffon (UK tour of 101 Dalmatians the Musical, A Knight’s Tale: The Musical for Manchester Opera House, plus Alice in Wonderland at Derby Theatre). Additionally, Chioma was co-commissioned to compose for Ockham’s Razor’s This Time. These powerhouse performers will bring the stunning vocals that make this iconic Urchins’ trio so unforgettable.
Tasha Dowd will provide the unforgettable voice of Audrey II, the man-eating, ever-growing plant (Cinderella for CAST and Storyhouse, Vernons Girls for Liverpool Royal Court, The Walrus Has a Right to Adventure for Liverpool Everyman Theatre). Ross Lennon will work alongside Tasha, as the Puppeteer for Audrey II. Ross is part of the Olivier Award-winning cast for Dinosaur World Live’s run at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. Other puppeteer credits include: Dragons and Mythical Beasts for a China/US tour, Jurassic World: The Experience for Battersea Power Station and Solstice for Battersea Arts Centre.
David Rankine takes on the role of the swaggering, gas-guzzling Dentist, Orin (The Great Gatsby for Derby Theatre, Grease, Chicago, Sunshine on the Leith, Blithe Spirit for Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Aladdin for Eden Court); and Jon Bonner as Mr Mushnik, Seymour’s boss and East Side little shop florist (Return to the Forbidden Planet; The Glenn Miller Story for Bill Kenwright, Bugle Boy – The Glenn Miller Story for Garrick Theatre, West End; Into the Woods for York Theatre Royal and The Wizard of Oz for Blackpool Opera House).
Completing the cast will also be Wilf Stone and Hannah Woodward. Wilf and Hannah will be covering the roles of Audrey and Seymour, during the performances on Wednesday 20 May at 2pm for Northern Stage, and Thursday 18 June at 2pm for Derby Theatre. Wilf’s credits include: Red Riding Hood for Triple Treat and The Queen’s Hall, Wormtown for The Customs House, Tree and Song of the Goblins for Alphabetti Theatre, and Reiver for Elysium Theatre Company. Hannah’s credits include: Brassed Off for Theatre by the Lake, Stephen Joseph Theatre and Bolton Octagon, The Wizard of Oz, Cinderella and Snow White for Hartlepool Town Hall.
Joining the stellar team of actor-musicians for this cult-classic musical, will be Drummer, Amy Gray. Amy’s drummer and percussionist theatre credits include: Young Frankenstein, A Christmas Carol for Hope Mill Theatre, and Shout! The Mod Musical for The Gatehouse.
The creative team for Little Shop of Horrors includes: Sarah Brigham (Director); Matthew Malone (Orchestrator and Musical Supervisor); Verity Quinn (Set and Costume Designer); Myles Brown (Choreographer); Ben Glover(AV/Caption Designer); Sian Campbell (Musical Director); KJ (Lighting Designer); John Barber (Puppet Director); Debbie O’Brien (Casting Director); Anita Gilbert (Voice Coach); Alexandra Whiteley (Assistant Director); and Emma Harris (Consultant).
The production will run at Northern Stage from 8–23 May before transferring to Derby.
Northern Stage Artistic Director Natalie Ibu said, “Little Shop of Horrors is the perfect mouthful of a musical. It balances comedy and menace brilliantly, it’s funny, a little bit scary and has a completely irresistible score. We can’t wait to welcome audiences into Skid Row for what promises to be a big-hearted, high-energy and gloriously mischievous night out.”
Sarah Brigham (Artistic Theatre and CEO, Derby Theatre and Director of Little Shop of Horrors): “I’m excited to bring this stellar cast and creative team together for this new actor-musician version of Little Shop of Horrors, and I know this company will bring a brilliant energy to it.
We’re really looking forward to collaborating with Northern Stage…and I cannot wait to get into the rehearsal room to bring this cult classic to life”
First staged in the early 1980s, the cult favourite musical has entertained audiences for decades with its mix of comedy, horror and unforgettable songs including Suddenly Seymour, Skid Row (Downtown) and Feed Me (Git It!).
The production will feature integrated captions at every performance to ensure the show is accessible to all audiences.