Little Shop of Horrors @ Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre

If you’ve grown weary of the traditional festive cheer and merriment that so characterises panto season and prefer your Christmas with a little more bite, then what better way to satisfy your cravings than with the newest production of the hit musical Little Shop of Horrors? Based on the 1960 cult film of the same title, the plot revolves around Seymour Krelborn, a floundering florist whose fortune dramatically changes when he comes into possession of a rare species of plant with a sinister appetite. How far will Seymour go to keep his new-found fame and the woman of his dreams, Audrey?

Instead of presenting its audience with the clichéd good-and-evil character divide we come to expect of Christmas pantomimes, Little Shop of Horrors instead serves as an allegory of how easy it is for even the most meek and well-meaning of people to become increasingly corrupted by power and negative influences. If you can look past the music and the farce, it is a story which carries a cautionary message for its audience: we must be wary about which parts of our nature we choose to ‘feed.’

The spectacle is brought to life – quite literally – on the Royal Exchange’s classic round stage, where audiences are granted a 360-degree view of writers Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s bloodthirsty bush (christened Audrey Two by the love-struck Seymour). Director David Bond describes the production as “a gory, scary, glitter and sequins treat for all the family.” Adults and younger viewers alike are sure to find entertainment in the musical numbers – and if the idea of a giant carnivorous herb wreaking havoc seems a bit gruesome for your taste, Audrey Two’s foulmouthed gags and Seymour’s desperate attempts to appease its thirst for blood provide a lighter comic balance. Is it silly? Yes. But we still love it.