Review: Entertaining, fun night out

A peek inside the spiegeltent. Photo Tim Whittaker

Little Shop of Horrors
Live Live Cinema
Created and composed by Leon Rodojkovic
Directed by Oliver Driver
Spiegeltent, Village Green
Havelock North
Wednesday, October 12
Reviewed by Linda Hall

I'd forgotten what it was like to have music pulsing through my body. It makes you feel alive and excited to be sitting in an amazing venue with actors just metres away.

The stage was set with so many props, including three television screens, I didn't know where to look. Music exploded from the stage as the four actors leapt about, changing characters with the blink of an eye and keeping in perfect lip sync with the 1960 hit show Little Shop of Horrors playing in black and white on the television screens.

At first my eye was drawn to the screen and I watched it for about five minutes before I realised I was actually missing all the real live action.

Even when I changed tact and started watching the actors, Byron Coll, Barnaby Duncan, Laughton Kora and Hayley Sproull moved so fast and changed characters so smoothly it took me a while to catch up.

They were hilarious and the near capacity audience loved every minute.

Near the end during "the chase" two of the actors left the stage and ran around the tent. They had used a balloon and dart on stage to simulate a noise.

A balloon was handed to an audience member who was asked to hold it up. As he did so one of the actors, quite a long way from them on the stage, took aim with a dart at the balloon.

It was very funny - then just as he looked as if he was ready to throw the dart another actor ran from behind the audience member and popped the balloon.
I"m sure they would have got a huge fright.

If you ever get the chance to see this live cinema don't miss it. It's an entertaining, fun night out. I loved it.