ALMOST always with Salisbury Playhouse, the stage set is the opening scene-stealer and also the ultimate show-stopper – no change with this current show.

This consistently wonderful theatre has some incredibly talented and imaginative set designers and constructors.

Another memorable production, Little Shop Of Horrors opens with a drunk lying in the gutter, the New York back streets so convincingly dirty you can almost smell the poverty.

Mr Mushnik’s Flower Shop is hopelessly unpopular, about to go out of business, and shop workers Seymour and Audrey are about to lose their jobs.

Almost by accident, following freak weather conditions (here comes the sci-fi!), Seymour manages to develop a healthy yet bizarre-looking plant.

Problem is, the thing survives and thrives on Seymour’s fresh blood.

The man-eating, blood-loving plant (named Audrey II) develops a voice (“Feed me! Feed me!”) and grows bigger and bigger, becoming increasingly famous and frightening.

The grotesque plant’s voice (Leon Craig) and its skilful puppeteer (Andrew London) make the thing utterly convincing, to the extent that one young girl in the audience had to avert her eyes and bury her face in her dad’s chest (nightmares later!).

Among many over-the-top characters, Jez Unwin is hugely enjoyable as the unbalanced and manic dentist.

The five-piece live band (shame we can’t see them playing) are punchy and powerful, although the sound balance is occasionally uneven, drowning out some vocals and obscuring some lyrics.

Brendan McCusker