Little Shop of Horrors brings Chitty Chitty Bang Bang star back to The Kings Theatre's stage in new production

​The show follows the hapless Seymour as he battles through his depressing life as a florist’s assistant with a huge secret – his accidental creation of a man-eating plant, aptly named Audrey II after his secret work crush.

Before Chitty, Georgia had last appeared on the Southsea venue’s stage as a youngster. Pre-pandemic she had been living and working in London, appearing in major shows like Sweeney Todd, Crazy For You and American Idiot.

Recalling Chitty, where she played Truly Scrumptious, she says: ‘I don't even have the words to express how good it was, it was such a special show for me, and especially being my first one back in such a long time, it's always going to hold a really special place in my heart.

‘Everything was perfect. We got such good feedback – I think everyone had the best time and I think that really shone through.’

Chitty was a huge success for the theatre, with a sell-out run and phenomenal reviews. However, Little Shop has been pulled into shape at comparatively short notice after another show that was due to have this slot fell through.

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‘We found out we were doing this, and we only had six weeks to put it on,’ explains Georgia. ‘It's come round really quickly, but the beauty of this show is that it's only a small cast – there's only nine of us, so there's not as many people to organise.’

And Audrey is a total change from her last role.

‘She’s so different, not just character-wise, the whole show is completely different. It's a real challenge for me coming out from Truly. She sings very old-fashioned and classical, whereas Audrey's a real powerhouse, but it's nice to be able to play someone so different.’

She is however enjoying playing opposite a man-eating plant.

‘It's really fun. There's four different sized plants, and it's so clever – such clever stagecraft. And we've got the voice of the plant played by Stuart Warner, who's fabulous.

‘It's going to be a real special one.’

Seymour is played by Charlie Frame who won a Guide Award for his turn in the title role of the Portsmouth Players’ production of Jesus Christ Superstar.

‘He's fab,’ says Georgia of her co-star. ‘Anything you can imagine being Seymour, he is. He is so effortless, and a dream to work with, so hard-working, he's great.’

With the tight time-frame, rehearsals have been full-on.

‘It's going very well, we've pretty much set it now. But I like working this way, our director Jack [Edwards, The Kings’ creative director] likes to get the structure of the piece first and then he says: “Right, go away and have a think about what you want to do and we can try things out. I actually really enjoy that, it's not restricting.’

The show is on from June 28-July 1. For tickets go to kingsportsmouth.co.uk.