‘cheekily self-aware’
As a card-carrying, heel-wearing friend of Dorothy, I am as shocked as you to admit that I have never seen a stage production of The Rocky Horror Show. So following an Australian star, I toddled down to Wimbledon for the kick-off of the next tour, thinking it would be just like the film (which, thankfully, I have seen). How wrong I was.
The ultimate creative underdog. Building from the original musical by Richard O’Brien, with help from Lou Adler and Michael White and directed by Jim Sharman, the 1975 film was born – and initially – did utterly terribly. Either ignored or insulted, it flopped. Yet midnight screenings and a swelling cult following meant that by 2007 it had grossed in excess of $166 million worldwide.
The original costumes by Sue Blane can be partly credited with the emergence of the punk aesthetic. It’s still being shown in cinemas up and down the country – and the world – and is considered one of the longest-running film releases. It’s in the American Film Hall of Fame and now beloved almost unanimously by critics. It’s a big, clomping success, in short, with the stage production continually touring throughout the UK. A nomad, a refuge for ‘freaks and weirdos’, a cultural institution and spectacle-hell, it can even be credited with following on from the sexual liberation and countercultural movements of the 1960s.
The most amazing thing is the audience participation. Yes, there are costumes and the many-domed wigs of the Hammer Horror genre it parodies bobbing away. Stepping further however into standom, we have counterpoint dialogue, which started in the Waverly Theatre New York’s screenings of the late 1970s. Lines and heckles explode from different parts of the auditorium – some crafted on the night, some clearly known by many. This diverts and corpses actors crafting a club-night feel I’ve only ever felt a hint of in Mamma Mia! Here, it’s devilishly hotter and grimier.
But enough looking backwards, what about the recent, platformed leg of this long, long legacy? Well, “hot and sweaty” would be correct. Handing out paper fans on press night wasn’t a good sign, and in the midst of a merciless heatwave, we huddled down to the roar of the absolutely useless and rather distracting portable AC units. The audience resembled masked butterflies, fluttering their thousands of plaintive wings and dabbing at their running, glittery eyeshadow.
As Frank ‘N’ Furter, Jason Donovan channels Tim Curry’s plummy British accent, but looks a bit more like Ozzy Osbourne in drag. He has the flickering tongue of a snake and the roaring vocals known from his Joseph fame.
Stacey Monahan stepped in for Lauren Chia as Janet and was perfect in squeaking polyester, opposite Connor Carson as a stuffy but eventually pliant Brad. Morgan Jackson is the sculpted Rocky, adding some acrobatics to give the poor Frankenstein’s monster more than just deltoids. Job Greuter, Natasha Hoeberigs and Jayme-Lee Zanoncelli are fab as Riff Raff, Magenta and Columbia. Hugh Durrant’s set is as tongue-in-cheek a parody as you’d expect from Rocky Horror. Sue Blane keeps control of the costumes, so visually, everything is gloriously unchanged.
One eye is always out winking at the audience, cheekily self-aware. Although be warned: it is also smutty and messy, a little like a panto for adults. But who doesn’t love a little blue? Comedian Nathan Caton does hilarious battle with the very personal interactions from the audience as the Narrator, though he looks a little uncomfortable in the setting and has some diction issues.
Thankfully, shadow play (audience members re-creating the show live) is absent here, but the energy and atmosphere are sweltering, bawdy and utterly freeing. Die-hard fans speak of seeing it as an almost religious experience and I understand that. As Donovan croons through ‘I’m Going Home’, and red glitter lips tremble at ‘Don’t Dream it, Be It’, we flutter our fans, ready to convert to whatever celestial, queer cult is provided. Catch it before it slinks off across the country, but remember to don your fishnets, pearl necklace, or at least a bright red lip. Don’t worry, you absolutely won’t be alone.
Coming to a theatre near YOU (possibly) click HERE!