Dublin's biggest theatre is staging its first production. Will its Little Shop of Horrors pull off a coup?
Theatreworx
studio space in
Dunboyne
, in Co Meath, the floor has been marked with positioning tape, stacks of printed scripts are piled on tables and, tucked into a corner, a model of the set for Little Shop of Horrors sits on a plinth for the newly assembled cast to admire.
The set's designer,
Maree Kearns
, is standing beside the intricate miniature New York streetscape to introduce the performers to the world they will be inhabiting for the next six weeks. There are oohs and ahs as she rotates artfully worn shopfronts and slides in blood-spattered backdrops.
Then there are wows for the growing scale of a flesh-eating flower, as Kearns marks out the scene change for them. The ensemble of 16 know that the real main character of
Howard Ashman and Alan Menken
's comedy-horror musical isn't Seymour, the hapless florist, or Audrey, his simpering colleague, or Mr Mushnik, boss of the bouquet emporium. It is Audrey II, the voracious Venus flytrap that, by the musical's end, looks set for world domination.
The cast also know that the work they're doing has more significance than simply what the audience will see on stage at the
Bord Gáis Energy Theatre
towards the end of the month. As
Stephen Faloon
, who runs the Dublin venue, and is one of the producers, reminds them in his introductory remarks, 'Our job is to show audiences that musical theatre has a home here in Ireland.'
READ MORE
Little Shop of Horrors: Cast members Jacqueline Brunton, David O'Reilly, Johnny Ward and Ghaliah Conroy with a model of the set, designed by Maree Kearns, for the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre's first in-house production. Photograph: Brian McEvoy
Faloon has been at the helm of the theatre – the Republic's largest – since it opened in 2010, overseeing the programming and installation of countless visiting West End shows. Little Shop of Horrors is altogether different. It is the venue's first homegrown production, and Faloon is buzzing with excitement.
'We were built as a receiving house,' he explains. 'Our remit is to bring the best of the West End and Broadway to Dublin. But I have always thought there should be no reason why we can't celebrate our own talent too.'
Independent producers have brought several Irish shows to the theatre over the years, among them Paul Howard's satirical
Anglo: The Musical
and Adam Powell and Paul Hurt's
Angela's Ashes: The Musical
, but during the pandemic Faloon was inspired to consider investing in a full-scale production that the theatre might build from the ground up.
'The idea really started in 2021, when we got some money from the government to get artists back to work. We did a concert version of West Side Story, employing 73 Irish artists. Because of restrictions, we could only do a show for an audience of 50 – in a house of more than 2,000. It was ludicrous, really.
'But what was remarkable about it was the wealth of Irish talent, [many of whom] were working abroad – one of the lead actors from The Lion King, the assistant musical director from The Book of Mormon – because there was no indigenous work in musical theatre here. That kernel of truth stayed with me. It has taken a few years to grow into something. But, finally, here we are.'
His colleague
Claire Tighe
, who is the production's director and choreographer, as well as a coproducer, says: 'We really do have the most amazing Irish talent working in musical theatre all across the world, on and off stage, but those creatives don't get very much opportunity to work in Ireland.
'Musical theatre is very difficult to mount, as it is a heck of a lot more expensive [than regular theatre], so whoever wants to do it really has to go for it, and build partnerships, and that's where this production' – a partnership between the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre and Tighe's Theatreworx – 'comes in.
'It was born out of a desire to bring Irish talent to the stage here, so that we can show Irish audiences that musical theatre culture here is so rich and that we can make shows that are as top tier as anything they have seen at the theatre before. If we can do that, we can get the whole culture to grow legs and develop, and that will change the landscape for the Irish talent that wants to make work here.'
Little Shop of Horrors has a particular sentimental significance for both Faloon and Tighe. Faloon saw the original production as a young teenager in the West End in 1983.
'I remember so vividly how it felt to me,' he says. 'It was so much fun. I was transported from the moment it began, completely mesmerised. My dad bought the soundtrack on cassette, and I would get into his car when he got home from work and listen to it while doing my homework.'
For Tighe, it was 'the first musical I ever directed. That was back in 2006, for
Leixlip Musical & Variety Group
, which was where I learned how to be a director before I went into the professional industry. I actually came across my notebook yesterday, with all my notes'.
Theatreworx also produces the well-regarded pantomimes at the Helix Theatre, in north Dublin, which have been running since 2008. Panto is a particularly important art form in Ireland, she says, as it 'has historically been the only place with a long enough contract in musical-theatre terms, so it's much sought-after'. As a result, 'you have some amazing professional productions happening around the country, attracting top talent who usually might only get to work in London or the UK'.
Tighe's comments resonate strongly with David O'Reilly, who is playing Seymour, alongside Jacqueline Brunton as Audrey. He has several West End shows and UK tours under his belt, including The Book of Mormon and Grease. O'Reilly moved to London to train in 2007, a typical trajectory for aspiring musical-theatre performers.
'It was well known that the training was at a level where you would have access to people with a finger on the pulse of what was happening, teachers who would be going from class to warm-ups in the West End, and that you could easily get into employment after,' he says.
Training opportunities 'have changed a lot now, though. Teaching across the board in Ireland has gone through the roof in terms of its delivery, and you are seeing a growth of stage schools with really talented teachers – and that's even before you go on to third level'.
Cork School of Music
offers a BA in musical theatre; and the
Lir
, the national academy of dramatic art, in Dublin, offers a BA in acting that includes a substantial section on musicianship and group singing, as well as short musical-theatre courses for professionals.
[
The Book of Mormon: 'We put all of these subversive things into a familiar box for people. And we swear a lot'
Opens in new window
]
Opportunities to work professionally have not kept pace, however. When O'Reilly moved back to Ireland in 2022, he intended to focus on TV and film work. He jumped at the chance to audition for Little Shop of Horrors – Tighe's open call attracted more than 2,000 performers – not least because, as with Faloon and Tighe, the musical represented 'a full-circle moment for me. The last time I was on stage in Ireland was as a teenager, playing Seymour in a production at my stage school, and my audition songs for my musical-theatre course were from Little Shop as well'.
He adds that venues such as the
Gate
, which recently staged productions of
Fun Home
and
The Borrowers
, have shown that audiences want to see musical theatre. 'And it is really inspiring, as a performer, to have something being produced on this scale on the same stage where productions like Hamilton or Wicked have been.'
Little Shop of Horrors: Puppeteer Chris Corroon with a puppet of Audrey II, the Venus flytrap, for the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre's first in-house production, at Theatreworx studio space in Dunboyne, Co Meath, during rehearsals. Photograph: Brian McEvoy
When Chris Corroon, the production's puppeteer, introduces me to several full-sized incarnations of Audrey II in the workshop next door, it really seems as if Little Shop of Horrors could be as visually and technically ambitious as any touring show the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre has hosted.
'It is a big challenge,' Tighe says, 'but I am not afraid of it. We have an incredible team of creatives, some brilliant stalwarts who have loads of musical-theatre experience, as well as some incredible new talent. We have an amazing revolving set that is more than worthy of being on that stage. So we are going to make sure that an audience is not going to think it's in any way less than something that might be flown in from the West End.'
Indeed, if anything is scary, Faloon says, it's the role-reversing fact that British producers have been in touch about travelling over to see their Little Shop of Horrors. 'If it is a success – and it will be – the whole landscape for making musical theatre here could change.'
Little Shop of Horrors is at the
Bord Gáis Energy Theatre
, Dublin, from Friday, July 25th, until Saturday, August 9th
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