Richard O’Brien’s naughty but undeniably fun musical still feels vibrant as ever.
Wacky, outrageous and pure fun from start to finish, The Rocky Horror show is still as popular as ever with audiences if the reactions of the Richmond Theatre audience are anything to go by.
For those who have yet to experience the mad and bawdy musical, the story follows that of the innocent couple Brad and Janet who end up stranded when their car breaks down. They find their way to a mysterious castle occupied by Frank-N-Furter an alien Transvestite from the planet Transexual in the Galaxy of Transylvania who wants to remove their innocence.
From start to finish, Christopher Luscombe’s production is hard to resist from the cartoonish nature of the sets (brilliantly realised by Hugh Durrant), bold costume designs and its sheer infectious and naughty energy that is on display from start to finish.
Given the nature of the show, it hardly needs to be said that this not a show for those who are perhaps easily offended – it outright says things that are particularly naughty and Jackie Clune as the narrator fully makes the most of this and responds brilliantly to every heckle that the audience shouts out (as do the cast as whole in fairness).
While perhaps the plot is slightly thin, it has to be said of course the songs are not. Each song ensures that the audience is either tapping their feet along or singing along (this is a show that really invites this kind of behaviour in the best sense). Particular highlights in this particular production, thanks to Nathan M Wright’s impressively electrifying and athletic choreography (just look out for the routine for ‘Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me’ for example) are the renditions of ‘Time Warp’ and ‘Hot Patootie – Bless My Soul’ that captures the spirit of the show as a whole.
Yet it does have to be said that the energy levels of the second act are not quite on the same level as the first – which is more to do with how the story plays out more than anything else and is still very vibrant in many ways.
What is refreshing for a show that tends to rely on celebrity names (who of course may have had a musical theatre background) to bring the central characters to life, it is lovely to see how a cast of experienced musical theatre performers bringing the roles to life.
Adam Strong as Frank N Furter is wonderfully flirtatious and powerful vocally, with his renditions of ‘Sweet Transvestite’ filled with sass making a nice contrast with the more soulful ‘ ‘I’m Going Home’ proving to be highlights. Connor Carson as Brad and Lauren Chia as Janet are equally strong performance wise, bringing the comical nature of the characters as well as how they develop perfectly. Jobe Greuter is suitably creepy and intriguing to watch as Riff Raff, while Morgan Jackson as Rocky showcases some extremely impressive athletic moves.
As a tribute to science fiction and horror films, The Rocky Horror Show works as well as it ever did and is naughty fun from start to finish.
By Emma Clarendon
Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️
The Rocky Horror Show is at Richmond until the 3rd May before continuing to tour.