LIVE LIVE CINEMA

P H O T O © G A R E T H V A N N I E K E R K PHOTO © PHIL EVANS

TALKING MOVIES

Live Live Cinema brings Roger Corman’s classic The Little Shop of Horrors to madcap life at the EIFF. Scott Henderson caught up with director Leon Radojkovic

S hot for $30,000 in two days on a set left over from another i lm and featuring a talking plant, Roger Corman’s 1960 horror comedy, The Little Shop of Horrors, has always been unique. Its cult following has slowly morphed into an Off-Broadway musical, a 1986 remake and a further Broadway revival. Now it’s getting the live cinema treatment at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, courtesy of New Zealand outi t Live Live Cinema.

As high-octane cinematic experiences go, there’s nothing quite like a i lm with four artists providing voice, music and sound effects up there on stage. Having tackled Carnival of Souls and Dementia 13 with larger ensembles, director Leon Radojkovic explains why The Little Shop of Horrors was perfect for something altogether more dangerous . . .

What was the inspiration for Live Live Cinema? The main inspiration actually came from the fairly common format, particularly within i lm festivals, of a musical ensemble performing a new score to an old silent i lm. Live Live Cinema pushes this basic concept much further however, by working with i lms from the sound era. So not only do we have a band performing new music, we have actors performing all the dialogue, and a madcap Foley artist working furiously to produce the sound of everything from the clinking of cutlery to an axe through the head. This immediately introduces all sorts of new layers and complexity, and also allows us to really interact with the i lm and reshape it quite signii cantly, simply with the power of audio. The EIFF programme describes The Little Shop of Horrors as ‘Corman at his most bizarre’. Why did you choose this i lm? Where Dementia 13 and Carnival of Souls both trade on atmosphere and tension, which can really be exploited by a large ensemble of performers aiming to produce an all-encompassing, thrilling live cinema experience, The Little Shop of Horrors is much more dialogue and character driven. It’s talky and fast-paced, which makes it perfect for a smaller ensemble of just four actor-musicians being forced to work like maniacs to essentially fuli l three separate roles each simultaneously.

22 THE LIST 4 Jun–3 Sep 2015

What was the motivation to go smaller? There were two reasons, really; the i rst was that we wanted to create a show where we amped up the danger. We wanted to create something that was pretty much impossible and that had the audience on the edge of its seat and pushed our group of performers almost to breaking point. Four performers trying to do all the music, dialogue and sound effects is really ridiculously difi cult and that makes for exciting, dangerous theatre. The other reason, if we are to be totally honest, is a i nancial one. We want people to see our work, and so four people and two suitcases is way easier to tour than 17 people and a container of stuff.

How were the cast brought together? We needed performers who were both funny, skilful character actors and musical chameleons; we needed very clever humans. We were all fans of Hayley Sproull and thought she would be a superb Audrey, which she is. Oliver [Driver, Live Live Cinema’s director] and I had both just worked with Laughton Kora on Jesus Christ Superstar and we loved his energy and on-stage personality. Byron Coll is a comedic genius and Barnie Duncan is one of my favourite performers. Ultimately these four shone in the auditions. We wanted a cast of naughty clowns, each with a different personality and style. We honestly couldn’t be happier with them, as they are all truly astonishing. How big a challenge has it been? The biggest challenge is that it is simply impossible, but that’s what makes it such an exciting performance to watch; you know they must at times fail, and indeed they do. It’s hilarious when it happens. Our i rst two productions were beautiful presentations of classic cinema while The Little Shop of Horrors is a chaotic trip; it’s mad, funny and totally insane.

Live Live Cinema’s The Little Shop of Horrors, Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Wed 24 Jun, 7.30pm.