Rehearsals have begun for the new Little Shop of Horrors, and every September performance at Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre has sold out before the first preview.
Rehearsals are under way for the new revival of Little Shop of Horrors, and the producers report that all performances throughout September at Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre have sold out. The run there is 25 September to 29 November 2026, and the transfer to Liverpool Playhouse, 3 December 2026 to 9 January 2027, is selling fast.
Maisie Smith plays Audrey in Manchester, her first musical theatre role after EastEnders and a Strictly Come Dancing final. Jessie Elland, from Emmerdale, takes the role in Liverpool. They are joined by Michael Starke, Ben Yates and Jed Berry, with Rio Maye, Gabrielle Davina Smith and Psalms-Nissi Myers-Reid as the urchins and an ensemble of Ella Howlett, Joseph Peacock, Nathen Scott and Kai Cameron Jay.
Carrie-Anne Ingrouille directs and choreographs, having been nominated for both Tony and Olivier Awards for Six. Set and costume design is by Morgan Large, whose recent work includes Sister Act and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the London Palladium.
Audrey II is being built as four separate puppets by Robert Allsopp, the creature maker behind work on the Wicked films and a number of Doctor Who’s more memorable monsters — the plant grows through the evening, so the puppets scale with it.
The score is by Alan Menken with book and lyrics by Howard Ashman. Paul Schofield is musical supervisor and Ben Barrow musical director, with lighting by Rory Beaton, sound by Kelsh Buckman-Drage and casting by Rob Kelly. It is produced by Thomas Hopkins for SAMS Entertainment.
Little Shop of Horrors runs at Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester from Friday 25 September to Sunday 29 November 2026, then at Liverpool Playhouse from Thursday 3 December 2026 to Saturday 9 January 2027.
