June 1, 2010
‘You better wise up, Janet Weiss. Your apple pie don't taste too nice’
As a Rocky Horror virgin, I didn’t know whether to dress up or not. The age-old quandary, do I dress up for the fancy dress party, risking that it’s not fancy dress after all (a la Bridget Jones in her bunny costume), or do I dress normally and risk looking really square? Anyway, I decided on the middle ground, wore a bit of fishnet and high heels, and just looked like a kinked-up version of myself, which was pretty much the middle ground of the audience – most not dressed up at all, but a few went way OTT with fishnets, corsets, heels, stuffed bras, feather boas etc – and that was just the guys.
I was seeing the show with few preconceptions apart from that it was an outrageous transvestite musical fest, which it indeed was. The story is, in a nutshell, an old-fashioned couple, Brad and Janet, get stranded in the middle of nowhere and end up in a house belonging to an eccentric transvestite called Dr Frank ‘N’ Furter who ends up seducing them both. Then it all gets a bit weird and Janet also has sex with a Frankenstein-type macho creation before they all get killed and transported to outer space, or something like that.
But the story doesn’t really matter. Entertainment wise, it was a fantastic show. Christopher Biggins was great in the role of Narrator, even though he wasn’t in it nearly enough for my liking – he came across as great fun, just like he is on TV – speaking to one of the New Theatre staff in the interval, she said he was exactly like that in real life and was her ‘new best friend’. The audience interjected ad libs along the way, some expected, some not, and Biggins handled the audience participation well, he made the show really panto-like and enjoyable – he is just one of those naturally funny and likeable performers.
The outstanding performance was David Bedella as Frank ‘N’ Furter – outrageous, powerful, charismatic – I have never seen anyone look masculine in suspenders before but he managed it with an abundance of both campness and testosterone. He was enigmatically believable and really made the show memorable, and I will actively seek out future performances of his. I have never seen an anal sex scene played out on stage before nor did I ever think it could be so so so laugh-out-loud funny.
Overall the show was punchy, exciting and fast – the first half was only 45 minutes long and really flew by, so this is not a drawn out show, it is over quickly but satisfyingly (probably like Frank ‘N’ Furter's conquests of Brad and Janet). My guest said it was much better than the film which was too long and dragged on – in the show, the build up of the characters was maybe a bit lacking, in particular the creation of ‘Eddie’ and ‘Rocky Horror’ which were glossed over pretty quickly, but as a fast-paced and very funny entertainment romp, this is the one to go and see – but don’t take the kids!
‘What have you done to Brad?’ ‘Nothing – why, do you think I should?’
As a Rocky Horror virgin, I didn’t know whether to dress up or not. The age-old quandary, do I dress up for the fancy dress party, risking that it’s not fancy dress after all (a la Bridget Jones in her bunny costume), or do I dress normally and risk looking really square? Anyway, I decided on the middle ground, wore a bit of fishnet and high heels, and just looked like a kinked-up version of myself, which was pretty much the middle ground of the audience – most not dressed up at all, but a few went way OTT with fishnets, corsets, heels, stuffed bras, feather boas etc – and that was just the guys.
I was seeing the show with few preconceptions apart from that it was an outrageous transvestite musical fest, which it indeed was. The story is, in a nutshell, an old-fashioned couple, Brad and Janet, get stranded in the middle of nowhere and end up in a house belonging to an eccentric transvestite called Dr Frank ‘N’ Furter who ends up seducing them both. Then it all gets a bit weird and Janet also has sex with a Frankenstein-type macho creation before they all get killed and transported to outer space, or something like that.
But the story doesn’t really matter. Entertainment wise, it was a fantastic show. Christopher Biggins was great in the role of Narrator, even though he wasn’t in it nearly enough for my liking – he came across as great fun, just like he is on TV – speaking to one of the New Theatre staff in the interval, she said he was exactly like that in real life and was her ‘new best friend’. The audience interjected ad libs along the way, some expected, some not, and Biggins handled the audience participation well, he made the show really panto-like and enjoyable – he is just one of those naturally funny and likeable performers.
The outstanding performance was David Bedella as Frank ‘N’ Furter – outrageous, powerful, charismatic – I have never seen anyone look masculine in suspenders before but he managed it with an abundance of both campness and testosterone. He was enigmatically believable and really made the show memorable, and I will actively seek out future performances of his. I have never seen an anal sex scene played out on stage before nor did I ever think it could be so so so laugh-out-loud funny.
Overall the show was punchy, exciting and fast – the first half was only 45 minutes long and really flew by, so this is not a drawn out show, it is over quickly but satisfyingly (probably like Frank ‘N’ Furter's conquests of Brad and Janet). My guest said it was much better than the film which was too long and dragged on – in the show, the build up of the characters was maybe a bit lacking, in particular the creation of ‘Eddie’ and ‘Rocky Horror’ which were glossed over pretty quickly, but as a fast-paced and very funny entertainment romp, this is the one to go and see – but don’t take the kids!
‘What have you done to Brad?’ ‘Nothing – why, do you think I should?’