| What: Little Shop of Horrors ย When: August 22 to September 6, 2025 Where: The Masque, 37 Main Rd, Muizenberg, Cape Town Bookings:ย Quicket Direction: Jeffrey Johnson Choreography: Jeffrey Johnson Musical direction: John McGuiness Cast: Gregan Aherin as Seymour; Kay Mosiane as Audrey; Jeffrey Johnson as Audrey II; Ethan Wilton as Mr. Mushnik; Andrew Munnik as Orin and Claire Thomson, Rufaro Mvududu and Rachel Suttle as the Urchins Set design: Daniel Enticott, Jeffrey Johnson and Daniella Mizrachi Lighting design: Gary Fargher Costume design: Nicky Enticott Set construction: Daniel Enticott and Kevin Smith Age restriction: No under 13s Masque box office:ย Open Tuesday, Wednesday and Fridays between 9am and 2pm Good to know:ย Secure parking, wheelchair access and facilities available. Back-up generator so the show will go on, when there is load shedding ย ย |
I was bowled over by ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ก๐จ๐ฉ ๐จ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ which is on at the Masque Theatre, Cape Town, South Africa, August 22 to September 6, 2025. The music by Alan Menken and lyrics and book by Howard Ashman is a protest musical for our times: Donโt feed the plants. Donโt feed the politicians. Be careful of the monsters in our midst and of being seduced by their promises. Exceptional production – direction, staging and performance. Theatrically and vocally, this production is a wow. The lighting, (incredible shadow puppetry), set, puppets – wow. There was rapturous applause throughout.
Kay Mosiane as Audrey and Gregan Aherin as Seymour – are magic. I met Mosiane some time back when she worked for the National Arts Festival, Makhanda. The Rhodes University trained actor and singer teaches drama at Wynberg Girls and here she is as Audrey. She learned the role in six weeks. A performer had to drop out because of illness in the family. I found it fascinating how the gags and objectification of women has given way to foregrounding GBV (gender based violence) as Audrey sheds the Bimbo aesthetic and little-girl voice and takes agency as a woman. Mosiane nails Audrey โ subverting stereotype and archetype. Astounding performance, with a glorious voice,
Masque Programming manager and producer, Faeron Wheeler told me that cognition of the GBV epidemic โ in South Africa โ and worldwide – was very much a part of the process of staging this production. Johnson and the cast were aware that 2025 audiences would not be amused by the mickey being taken out of Audrey who is beaten physically and emotionally by her sadistic dentist boyfriend, Orin (played with delicious withering menace by Andrew Munnik โ thanks for consolidating my fear of dentists).
The energy between Mosiane and Aherin is layered by so much in these two individuals who are bound together by fragility in terms of self and identity and yearning to transcend their circumstances โ at all costs โ even if that means that they become monsters by the choices that they take. There is no sanitising in this production as Mosiane and Aherin masticate deep into the bellies of Audrey and Seymour. They are not redeemed by gags in the book or lyrics and that is down to the performance โ particularly timing – and direction.
Aherin hails from Durban and has been doing voice-overs, adverts and other work but this is his first musical in Cape Town. Outstanding accent, voice, characterisation โ teasing out the agony of Seymour and his growing realisation that he is a monster, that he is culpable. The nerdish nebbish Seymour is still there but klutz and clown is tempered by emotional gravitas by Aherin.
The other principals are terrific. The omniscient Urchins are delicious. As a Greek type chorus, they chirp the protagonists and narrate the story โ with insights into their fractured psyches. They quick-change into the Ronnette Backing Group โ resplendent in shimmering green frocks with gel-extension nails. Sublime harmonies and vocals, reminiscent of 60s girl groups, with lashings of rock nโ roll, R&B, Motown and doo-wop. Claire Thomson, Rufaro Mvududu and Rachel Suttle are astounding as they shift between Urchins and backing group โ seamlessly transfiguring through the narrative โ physically and emotionally. A note on the music: It is an intoxicating mash-up of approaches including Klezmer (eastern European Jewish instrumental music).
The fabulous ensemble presents a play in its own right, with homeless inebriated people on skid row, lolling about, watching the shop of horrors. Nicky Enticott – I was watching you with that ghostly hand. Enticott also designed the fabulous costumes. Husband, Daniel Enticott designed the set with Jeffrey Johnson and Daniella Mizrachi.
Bravo to Johnson for directing this stunning production. He is also choreographer and playing Audrey II – the plant. The plant becomes human – a leering punkish manifestation – channelling emcee, showman, psychotic, monster; your worst nightmare happening right now. The horror is all around us and in this cautionary tale, aliens will inherit our hubris and lack of humanity. Johnson is an American living in Simonโs Town. This is his debut production. In an interview, he told TheCapeRobyn that with this production, he has taken inspiration from the darkness, grittiness and sheer fun in the original stage musical, staged 1982, Off Broadway at the Orpheum in New York. https://thecaperobyn.co.za/interview-staging-little-shop-of-horrors-cape-town-2025-fun-with-grit-and-edge/
Little Shop of Horrors South Africa 2025 is huge fun and scary in a good way. You can read on for talking points to consider in my postscript. This is rave – a sign for producers in professional theatre – to check out the artists who are performing in this community theatre production. Go and nab these thespians- yeah that good. Exceptional. The design (set, lighting, costumes) is a wonder. Yeah, this is a community theatre production, with limited resources and they have triumphed with a set which is revealed and concealed, with a scrim and shadow puppetry and of course the plant, the Monster in our midst (Johnson) is the Svengali seducing us all โ theatrically and vocally. Go and see this outstanding production.
A shout out to Xander Zweig – Masque manager – for as always – his curation of opening night cocktails – a Bloody Audrey and Cheeky Urchin – on opening night. Ohmy.
Postscript: Johnson has delivered a knockout Little Shop of Horrors which is huge fun but beyond the sheer enjoyment, there is lot to mull on. Oh yeah, we say that colour/race doesnโt matter but from my research LSH has tended to be cast very much through a lens of colour and archetype. Watching this production in South Africa 2025, in the context of the psychotic world, I asked Johnson, Mosiane and Aherin to comment on the following: โThe musical comes across for me now โ as a protest musical โ donโt feed the plants โ donโt feed the politicians. Be careful of the monsters in our midst and of being seduced by their promises. Robust Audrey transcends silly Blond Dame. In the script, she is described as โthe gum-snapping, bleached-blond secret love of Seymour’s lifeโ. Okay, bleached blonde doesnโt necessarily mean white skin but that is the implication. I have looked in the script and see the Urchins described as homeless. I donโt see a reference for โBlackโ and yet they seem to be considered as people of colour when I search on internet for casting calls. Similarly โ Audrey 2 โ the plant โ is widely considered as this Black hipster street wise dude heckling white Seymour and white Mr Mushnik (very Jewish in original). And then the Urchins and Ronnettes pumping soul, โBlackโ music. I find it very interesting how all of that is subverted very SUBTLY in this production. It is not billed as a โcolour swappedโ production and nor should it but I am seeing layers which resonate for meโ especially with hair braided Audrey โ sans a little girl voice โ really making us feel for her. She is a strong woman. Audrey 2 is a liminal wizard who could be anything โ monster and genie. The archetypes have been dialed back to conjure up something a lot more human.โ
Johnson, Mosiane and Aherin responded: โThis is absolutely spot on. We can agree with that interpretation. Underneath the cartoon version that has been replicated over the years the process has dulled the biteโฆwhitewashing the ugliness it shows is in all of us, even those with the best intentions, for the sake of a fun family-friendly story with laughs and puppets. And nothing wrong with thatโฆbut we find it much more interesting to find those ugly truths along with the other humanizing truths within the characters and put those people in this situation of Alien invasion. It brings back the darker tone that was originally there. So it was less about the colour/race the characters have traditionally been portrayed and finding the truths of these characters with the actors we had. The journey took us on my twists and turns to get to the product we are now presenting.โ
โณ Claire Thomson, Rufaro Mvududu and Rachel Suttle as the Urchins in Little Shop of Horrors ย at the Masque, Cape Town, August 22 to September 6, 2025, directed by Jeffrey Johnson. Pic: Faeron Wheeler. Supplied.
