Richmond Theatre – until Saturday 28th May 2022
Reviewed by Liberty Noke
4****
The Rocky Horror Show has been loved by audiences all over the world for over 40 years and it is easy to see why. This naughty, sexy, scandalous show is a party from beginning to end.
It opens with the usherette (Suzie McAdam) on stage singing Science Fiction – Double Feature. Her costume was fantastic with her ice cream tray and blonde wig but this was only the beginning, she opened the curtain to reveal Brad (Ore Oduba) and Janet (Haley Flaherty) introduced by the narrator(Philip Franks). As the narrator speaks the audience use the well known talk-back lines to interact with him. The narrator was prepared for this and interacted perfectly even making topical references like to the Johnny Depp and Amber
Heard trial or Priti Patel.
Brad and Janet are clean-cut, ordinary people travelling home from a wedding. We watch them become engaged during their performance of Damn it, Janet which was fantastic. Their car then breaks down and they seek help at a nearby castle. They are greeted by Riff Raff (Kristian Lavercombe) who welcomes them inside to meet the other servants in the castle who all perform the Time Warp this song had the whole audience on their feet singing and dancing along, it was a really special moment to see the performers and the audience all having fun together.
We then meet the owner of the castle Frank N Further (Stephen Webb). Frank makes a spectacular entrance his presence is incredible and his performance of Sweet Transvestite was sensational. Frank really was the star of the show he had such command over the audience and his performance was outstanding.
The costumes in Rocky Horror are iconic, so much so that many of the audience attended wearing outfits inspired by them. This production was no different
I think my favourite thing about this show was the audience. The fans who had clearly seen it several times before and knew all the talk back lines to make the show funnier. The ones who brought props like a light to wave during the song “Over at the Frankenstein Place” and the ones who came in costumes so detailed you could hardly tell them from the actors on the stage. Seeing these people enjoy the show enhanced my enjoyment of it and was the highlight of my evening.