The Balance Between B-Grade Schlock And Emotional Truth

Brent Hill may be the actor with the most stage time in this new production of Little Shop Of Horrors, but the real star of this show has been lovingly crafted by Erth Visual and Physical Inc.

Getting used to Audrey II, the blood-sucking, Venus-human-trap at the centre of this tragi-comedy, has been a big part of the rehearsal process for the human members of the cast, and Hill says the team has been hard at work figuring out creative solutions to any of Audrey II's attempts to get in the way.

"It's quite a technical show," Hill explains. "It's a lot more technical than you might presume because you think you've just got this extra character, you've got the plant. You think it will be itself but it takes everyone. It's all hands on deck to make it come to life. It's very challenging. It's very hard work but it's very rewarding when we find solutions.

"I hear Tim Minchin is writing Groundhog Day so I'm fascinated with what he's doing with that."

"I know they've been planning and building Audrey II over a year-and-a-half from straight design and development to actually building it. But the cast have really only had hands on since day one of rehearsals. Everyone's been really great and really professional and picked things up really quickly."

Hill, despite an impressive collection of musicals on his resume, including Rock Of Ages, The Producers and most recently Once, hasn't ever seen a live production of Little Shop Of Horrors, so news that he was to play Seymour, the bumbling, love-struck, shop assistant who befriends Audrey II, sent Hill straight to YouTube.

"There's a lot of high school shows which is great for that B-grade movie feel. There's a whole heap of other songs in it that I wasn't aware existed.

"A musical can be very razzmatazz and that is very important and fun but it also needs an emotional core. If you can meld the two together that's when you get an exciting show. That's what we've been trying to do in rehearsal — hit the balance between B-grade schlock and emotional truth."

Hill is also a composer and has been working on his own musical theatre creations. While he takes inspiration from the shows he performs in, Hill says there is also plenty to be found in the new shows currently being written by other young artists.

"I hear Tim Minchin is writing Groundhog Day so I'm fascinated with what he's doing with that. And hearing about Hamilton and listening to the soundtrack. It sounds incredible and we should be figuring out a way we could have an Australian version of any of that. I would love to get something up, [something] distinctly human and distinctly Australian."

Until then, Hill is excited about getting his nerd on as Seymour.

"He comes from the circumstances of being an orphan and with a father figure that doesn't really treat him very well," Hill says.

"He kind of treats him like child labour so the only thing he's ever known is this downtrodden hard world —  then to get something that is essentially the devil saying, 'I can get you out of this and give you everything you've wanted', it's understandable.

"I am very different to Seymour but we are similar in some ways," Hill says. "Some days it will just take a simple putting on of glasses but other days it will take more of a thought process to get into that character."