altBlackpool’s Stacey Marie Laird chats to Audrey II’s puppeteer Josh Wilmott ahead of Little Shop of Horrors arrival at the Grand Theatre Blackpool next week.
Hi Josh… I’ve seen that you were in Avenue Q also, would you say Little Shop of Horrors is a more or less challenging role in terms of puppetry and the skills involved?
They both have equal challenges. This is a completely different form you’re doing; yet it’s still that Jim Henson-esque style, lip-syncing and all that kind of stuff. But I think in terms of the size of the puppets you are essentially using your arms and your whole body to make the thing move, so in that respect yes it’s a lot more physical from Avenue Q, it’s a lot more challenging. I find that a lot of the time one of the main things you have to do with puppetry is keeping a puppet ‘alive’ and because these puppets are so big, they stay still and are planted in a pot, you can’t move them about the stage and have to find other ways to keep them ‘breathing’ when they’re not talking or interacting with someone else. It’s been a lot more fun trying to find out other ways to do this.
How much extra training did you have for the puppetry in this show?
We had a rehearsal process in which that time was used to figure it out for yourself and as a puppeteer you know the rules and what you have to achieve to make an inanimate object come alive. So in rehearsal we had to learn how the puppets were made and how to put it together. The rest was up to me to play with it and figure it out for myself, which was a nice change. If anything it worked out better because if you find yourself being told how something works in the back of your mind you set up boundaries where as if you don’t know the boundaries you just go for it, throw the puppet about and realise on your own terms what it can and can’t do.
How many different puppets/flytraps are used in the show?
So we have four different pods: baby Audrey Two pod one, the generic puppet operated by a hole in the window shelf of the shop, which works quite Jim Henson-esque. The second one is a coat with a fake arm, which wraps around the front of the pod, which is operated by Sam Lupton who plays Seymour. Then there is pod three and pod four which I operate. Pod three is I sitting in a pod holding one arm above the jaw and one arm below the tongue moving in quite a crocodile-esque way from side to side, up and down. Then the fourth and final pod is the big green mother which I kind of want to say is operated like a fighter jet which makes my job sound cooler but that’s what it is, it kind of gets operated like a fighter jet or tank. It’s on a post with a ball, which pivots around, and you can really throw that about.
Which is your favourite musical number to perform in the show and why?
That’s a tough one. I’m going to say, ‘Feed Me’ which is the one in the introduction to Audrey Two, when he speaks for the first time and he’s telling Seymour. However there’s a specific moment in that number which I love after Orin slaps Audrey when they exit and then all of a sudden Seymour realises there is someone I can kill and I really hate Orin right now and Seymour comes back into the shop and we literally start rocking out together face to face, Sam Lupton (Seymour) and I. Obviously I’m in the puppet and I can see his face. Then there’s the finale, fortunately by Alan Menken himself we’ve been allowed for the first time ever, ‘Mean Green Mother from Outer Space’ to be included in this show. At first I thought lip-syncing it would be a pain as it’s very fast but actually it’s one of my favourite lip-syncing with Audrey Two pod four.
Which is your most challenging scene within the show?
I would have to go…hmm…it’s a toss up with ‘Feed Me’. It’s interesting between pod three and pod four because pod three is like a sprint, you’re going into the plant cold and then all of a sudden you’re having to be ‘alive’ and you’re doing this number for over five minutes none stop and you don’t get chance to rest your arms so that’s a proper workout. Where as pod four’s a marathon, where you do get chance to break, nonetheless those breaks that you’re doing aren’t really resting your arms because even in those breaks that you’re doing you’re still holding a weight back in that resting position. So I’d say ‘Feed Me’ is hard but pretty much all of Act Two is hard.
How would you say this production is bringing someone new to the story?
We’ve been fortunate in having such a creative production team. The set looks fresh; we’ve been able to take bits from one production of the show, bits from the film, bits from the original, bits from the new takes of it. We’ve kind of morphed all these best bits whilst completely adding a new twist onto its self, giving birth to this whole new production of it. Whilst not trying to be biased it really has become a definitive production which all of us working on this production would agree. It’s been a joy, especially when everyone grows up with this show and to see a different twist is brilliant.
In the 1986 film, there were 60 operators in Audrey Two when full size?
I love the Jim Henson Company. Yes he had a lot of puppeteers, each one operating a different muscle group in the face of the puppet and then they slowed it down, and did the whole thing in slow motion. Rick Moranis actually had to do his lines in slow motion and then they sped it up in production. We don’t have that (chuckles), we just have me. I take it as a compliment actually when people think there are more people working Audrey Two and that’s the joy of live theatre.
What would you personally say is Audrey Two’s funniest or best line in the show?
There’s one that I love at the end which is, I can’t remember the line that Seymour feeds me (pardon the pun), he says someone like “You had this planned all along” and Audrey Two simply replies “No **** sherlock”. There’s something about it coming out of a puppet and there’s the same thing about Avenue Q that I love, seeing something so innocent like a puppet saying something so everyday and the contrast of it. Then there’s when Seymour says, “Leave me alone” and Audrey Two says, “Tough titty”. There are loads of golden nuggets in the show.
Finally, as you probably know Frank Oz who directed the 1986 film was a puppeteer and the voice for Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear. If you could play any of the cast of The Muppets, who would you be and why?
(Laughs loudly) Oh I can’t answer that I love them all. I’m looking at my suitcase now and all the clothes are Muppet related and I’m looking at my pyjamas and they’ve got animal all over them. Ermmm, I love Beaker, I really love Beaker, I love that he doesn’t talk and I just love that he’s “Me-me-me” (does very good impression). He literally does nothing. Then I love Gonzo. But Animal again who doesn’t speak much, I love he’s mad about drums. I guess I would go with Fozzie Bear because who doesn’t love a bad joke, everyone loves a bad dad joke and watching him just fail. But then I feel like I’m letting all the Muppets down. I love them all.
Well don’t feel guilty about it please!
David Hutchinson, Philip Rowntree and Stephen McGill for Sell A Door Theatre Company Ltd and Damien Tracey Productions Ltd present Little Shop of Horrors. Touring the UK in a brand new production at Grand Theatre, Blackpool from 22 November to 26 November 2016.
For more information or to book tickets visit blackpoolgrand.co.uk or call the box office on 01253 290190
Show Comments (1)
Tom Bourne
Sounds great..good read 🙂