Tim O'Connor, director for Harvest Rain Theatre Company, talks to The Specusphere's Amanda Greenslade about the 2005 stage show Little Shop of Horrors.

What made you choose this play?

I have always really loved little shop. When I was younger I always dreamed of playing the role of Seymour in the show, but as I got older, the challenge of directing the show started to appeal to me. My designer (Josh McIntosh) and I have worked together heaps over the last few years and we kind of felt like we were ready to tackle something as technically difficult as little shop.

How would you say it compares to the broadway musical directed by Jerry Zaks?

If only I had seen that production! We have designed the plant puppets quite differently to the way they were designed for the Broadway production. Our puppets are much more lightweight and easier to move, so they look more realistic. As well as that, we have altered the way the character of the dentist is played — he is less like The Fonze and more like a hard core biker. When we approached the show, I tried to treat it as though it was the first time I had ever read the script or heard of the show, so everything we chose to do was not based on what we had seen in a movie, but rather on what we thought was best for our show and our audience. So, in answer to your question, I am sure our production is a million times better than the Broadway version hehehehehe!

Please describe some of the things you most enjoyed about directing Little Shop of Horrors

By a country mile, the best thing about directing little shop was getting to work with such an awesome cast. It has been the best fun rehearsing the show — it really has. The show is so technically difficult with all the plant puppets etc, it was nice to have such a supportive and hard working cast to make the ride to opening night that much easier.

How did making Little Shop of Horrors compare with your other speculative fiction stage shows (The Wiz; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; Peter Pan, etc.)?

It was much much much much harder than anything else I have ever done. Just with all the puppets and the complicated set, it was a bit of a tech nightmare at times. The puppets have to be totally convincing for the audience to buy into the show! Plus, this is the first show I have done that occurs on a realistic looking set and in a realistic time period. So attention to details was much more important than in a show like The Wiz.

Has it been as popular?

It seems to be as popular, yes. The audiences are ecstatic by the end of each performance. It's really cool to watch. After the show, people come up to me and shake my hand and promise they will bring 100 of their friends to the next performance. It's really cool.

Do you think the whacky science fiction element is a draw card for the audience of today?

I think everyone enjoys something different about little shop. Certainly, the science fiction element is a big part of what makes little shop such a great show, but there's also the catchy tunes and the sets and plants themselves.

Do you think the speculative fiction elements worked well on stage (eg. Audrey II, sets, props)?

During rehearsals there were many times that they didn’t work well at all... and I wanted to take to them with a hacksaw. But after much fine-tuning they all work very well now. It was a long road but we go there in the end. And the final result, I think, is extremely impressive.

Did these spec fic elements cause any difficulties for planning, directing and/or acting?

The biggest plant puppet has to eat three people whole, so that was a bit of a nightmare, especially when, for a long time, the puppet was just a skeleton. It was hard to block those scenes because we never really knew what was going to happen or how it was going to look. The cast had to be on their toes and ready for the blocking to go out the window the minute the puppets were finished and ready to use.

How did the actors like working with those freaky little plants and the bigger and bigger Audrey II props?

It was a love–hate relationship. When the puppets work, everyone loves them. But when they don't, it is quite frustrating. Ross (who plays Seymour) hurt himself quite badly being eaten by the biggest plant one night. It was all just trial and error with the plants because we had devised a new way to build the plants that was different to the Broadway show. In the big plant, the operator sits on a swivel chair inside the plant and the whole puppet rests on a metal frame that he can move up and down and around, so it looks weightless. And when the actors get "eaten" they go into the mouth and down through a hole in the floor and end up under the stage. So you can see, what looks simple on stage is really quite complex and when things don't work as they should, it can be very frustrating. But we love Audrey II now that she works.

Your designer, Josh McIntosh must be very talented and creative.  Did he enjoy it?

Josh always says that nothing worth doing is ever easy. So this show must have really been worth doing. Both he and I agree that this was by far the most difficult show we have done, and probably will do for a while. But we did enjoy it — and the real enjoyment comes from the audience’s reaction to our work. It makes all the blood, sweat and tears worthwhile.

Describe the relationship between horror and comedy in the play and how you made the two work together.

Well, its quite interesting what people will laugh at. The play is very dark at times, but because the horror is played in a comical way, people find it hilarious. But the thing with little shop is that it does not go out of its way to be shocking — there is no blood spatter or graphic violence. It's all very above board, so you are not shocked by the horror, but can find it amusing. The songs help a lot too — it's easy to accept a plant eating people when the plant sings R&B songs while it's doing it.

You are obviously a fan of speculative fiction.  What do you like about it?

Well, we spend our whole lives living in reality. I think it's fun to escape sometimes into Narnia or the Land of Oz or down to Skid Row. I personally have no interest in going to the theatre to see my boring life on stage. It's way more fun to direct things that are set in another reality. That way you don't have to be boxed in when you're being imaginative. Your thoughts can run wild. I turn everything I do into a speculative fiction — even if I was to do Death of a Salesman, it would probably have puppets and people in silly wigs swinging from the rafters in it. Makes it more fun.

Would you like to direct more spec fic stage shows?

As I say above, everything I do turns out that way sort of by accident. It's just the crazy way I think.

What kinds of stage shows does Harvest Rain prefer and what are its views on spec fic?

Everything we put on at Harvest Rain has to have a positive, wholesome vibe. We want audiences to walk away feeling good about themselves. We want them to leave with something positive to think about. Some may say little shop is an odd choice for a wholesome theatre company, but we have been very careful in the way we present the horror so that little kids can see the show and not be scarred for life. We try to be a theatre company that the whole family can come to and not be offended. Spec fic seems to appeal to the kids as well as the adults so we program a lot of shows that are done in that vein.

Is there a spiritual aspect to what you are doing at Harvest Rain?  If so, how does this translate into Little Shop of Horrors?

Harvest Rain is a Christian theatre company, based on Christian principles. All of us who run the company from day to day are Christians. So everything we do is influenced by our beliefs. However, that doesn't mean we're trying to get anyone into church by seeing Little Shop of Horrors. Ultimately, we are trying to provide people with a good wholesome night of entertainment that is free of bad language and inuendo. Harvest Rain is committed to standing up for what is good and moral, and all of ours show are devised to promote the same. There is so much doom and gloom and angst in the world. At Harvest Rain, we always want the theatre experience to be positive and uplifting. Even when seeing a show like The  Crucible, we try to present the plays in a way that is wholesome — a reminder that there is still good in the world.