Hull New Theatre – until 14th October 2023
Reviewed by Dawn Bennett
5*****
Howard Panter for Trafalgar Theatre Productions, Mallory Factor for Hill Street Productions and Rupert Gavin present in association with Christian C. Yegen, Mark Lubkeman, Kathryn Bricken and Jason Brueschke for APOTA Productions Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show.
I have to confess that the Rocky Horror Show is my all-time favourite musical, I have seen it numerous times in the last 30+ (cough) years and last night was up there with one of the best I’ve seen.
If you’ve never seen the show (or the film of the same name) I’ll try and describe the plot! Janet (Haley Flaherty) and Brad (Reece Budin) when travelling back from a wedding get a flat tyre in a storm and have to go to a near by house for help. It’s at the house we meet the people who live in it. Riff Raff (Kristian Lavercombe), the butler/handyman his sister Magenta (Beth Woodcock) and Columbia (Darcy Finden) and the very flamboyant, sweet transvestite himself Dr Frank N Furter (Richard Meek). Frank has made himself, in the lab, a man with blond hair and a tan called Rocky (Ben Westhead) with bits of the brain of his unfortunate former lover called Eddie (Joe Allen who also plays Dr Scott later in the production)). It then follows the story of what happens on that dark stormy night.
Jackie Clune, as the narrator is so good with her comebacks to the quite lively audience heckles! Her “off script” retorts are brilliant and caused a lot of laughter in the audience!
Richard Meek plays a brilliant Frank N Furter, his singing voice is off the scale and his rendition of I’m Going Home was just wonderful.
Kristian Lavercombe is the best Riff Raff in the business, funny, quirky and his timing…wow!
I really love watching Joe Allen on stage, he plays his characters (Eddie and Dr Scott) so well, he’s just not on the stage long enough for my liking!!
Reece Budin and Haley Flaherty are outstanding as Brad and Janet as are Beth Woodcock, Darcy Finden and Ben Westhead as Magenta and Columbia and Rocky.
The ensemble, playing the phantoms (Fionán O’Carroll, Stefania Du Toit, Ryan Carter-Wilson and Tyla Dee Nurden) brought the production together. Their singing, dancing and acting were so good.
The Band, under Musical Director Charlie Ingles, played the iconic tunes brilliantly.
This is the 50th Anniversary Production, and it is gloriously camp, shocking and brilliant in equal measures. Go early and see all the costumes some the audience wears in homage to their favourite characters, lots of stockings and basques out in Hull on a Monday night!
Do not miss this show. Go and see it and do the Time Warp again!