In rehearsal with Ian Moseley and Laura Newborough for Little Shop of Horrors

When you see a giant Venus flytrap bellowing a promise of untold riches to a hapless shop assistant, as long as he keeps feeding it the corpses of local down-and-outs, you know you’re not watching a usual BATS performance.

The story of Little Shop of Horrors is pure B-movie. The songs are a fantastic mix of Motown, rock ‘n’ roll and doo-wop – and there’s not a sparkly tap shoe in sight.

Ian Moseley and Laura Newborough in rehearsal

BATS has chosen to shake things up this year, with a new style of show, a new director and a largely new cast who are rising brilliantly to the challenge of staging one of Broadway’s favourite rock and pop musicals.

Ian Moseley and Laura Newborough take on their first lead roles for the Society. Ian plays nerdy shop boy Seymour Krelborn, while Laura plays his ditzy co-worker, and object of his unrequited affection, Audrey. Both have plenty of prior stage experience – Ian with a church drama group and Laura as a session singer and child performer.

What’s been the biggest challenge in Little Shop of Horrors? “Remembering my lines,” says Laura. “It used to be so easy…and then I had children, I’m sure it kills the brain cells!” For Ian, “It’s the physicality of the role. After setting Act One I had large painful bruises so needed to invest in some padding.” A wise precaution – Ian once broke his wrist on stage in panto.

Both are loving rehearsals. “We’re working hard but we still have lots of laughs and plenty of fun,” says Ian. Laura agrees. “The cast are such a lovely lot and the chemistry between us all is great! I think the Society is in a really good place right now – so much enthusiasm and fresh talent!”

Exactly how a monstrous man-eating plant will come to life on the Haymarket stage is a closely guarded secret, but Ian confirms they’ve been rehearsing with various different props to help: “Recently it was a dinosaur puppet called Terrance.”

So how would they sum up the show? Laura plumps for “Amazing music, hilarious melodramatic storyline, all very silly but very catchy and fun!”

For Ian, “It’s funny, it’s sad, and the songs really rock!”

Six performances of ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ run from Tues 14th – Sat 18th May at The Haymarket, Basingstoke.

Anything Goes - Julie Simmons in rehearsal

On stage she's Reno Sweeney, a sassy, brassy nightclub singer from the 1930s, with a wisecrack for every occasion. Off stage, she's Julie Simmons, a quietly spoken accountant from Basingstoke.

"She's completely not me!" laughs Julie, who brings racy Reno to life in BATS' production of the Cole Porter musical Anything Goes. "She's brash, confident, knows what she wants and how to get it! It's a real challenge to play her, but really fun as well."

Julie follows musical legends Ethel Merman and Elaine Paige in the role, which sees her embroiled in a shipboard comedy of mistaken identities, ludicrous disguises and madcap antics. She also gets to perform the best-known songs in the show - I Get A Kick Out of You, You're The Top, Friendship, Let's Misbehave, Blow Gabriel Blow and the title song Anything Goes.

Julie Simmons in rehearsal for Anything Goes (centre)

There's a real difference between Julie's normal speaking voice and the ballsy American twang she adopts on stage. "I've been working on getting a lower, deeper chest voice," she explains. "All the support comes from my diaphragm so it gives my voice more oomph for the big numbers."

Reno is Julie's first leading role for BATS so she's pleased to be playing opposite two experienced male leads - Bryn Hughes as all-American guy Billy Crocker and Anthony Mitchell as stuffy English toff Lord Evelyn.

"Bryn really knows his stuff and that makes it easy to act opposite him. Anthony is hilarious as this completely clueless aristocrat who doesn't realise Reno is making a play for him. They're both great to work with."

Julie's also had a hand in the show-stopping tap dance routines: "I'm dance captain, so when our choreographer Nick isn't there I've been rehearsinq the dancers, making tweaks and rejigging some of the numbers if needed."

So how would Julie sum up Anything Goes? "It's a wonderful comedic show with an amazing cast, fantastic songs and just a great night out at the theatre!"

Anything Goes - Chris Andrews in rehearsal

"I'm really looking forward to the atmosphere of the dressing room, that pre-show buzz - and performing alongside such a quality group of people!" Enthusiasm bubbles out of 28-year-old Chris Andrews. He clearly can't wait to make his Haymarket stage debut in Basingstoke Amateur Theatrical Society's production of Anything Goes. The Cole Porter musical is set on board a glamorous ocean liner in the 1930s and Chris is full of praise for the team behind the show.

Chris Andrews in rehearsal for Anything Goes (rear right of shot)

"The director Ray Jeffery really cares about detail. He won't just tell someone where to stand and leave the rest to them - he'll specify what he wants from each individual. But he also knows the overall effect he wants to achieve and that's really impressive."

Chris plays the ship's purser, but is also understudying the lead role of Billy Crocker. It means he's had to attend every rehearsal, alongside his day job as an IT. teacher at Fort Hill Community School.

"It can be difficult to juggle commitments," he admits, "and I'm sure the two weeks of the show will be pretty stressful - but so far I've been lucky that parents' evenings haven't fallen on rehearsal nights!"

Essex-born Chris may be a newcomer to BATS but he's no stranger to the local amateur theatre scene, having appeared in the musical "Modern Major General" with HAGS in Hartley Wintney, and in two shows with the Holy Ridiculous Church in Odiham.

With Anything Goes he faces the new challenge of learning to tap dance - but has a home advantage: "My girlfriend can tap so she's helping me with the basic steps."

Chris says he's had a warm welcome from BATS members and would recommend the company to anyone who fancies performing or working backstage: "With BATS the whole cast is so strong, you can really feel the energy when we're all together - it's going to be great!