Happy New Year to you all and I
hope you had a wonderful Christmas and ready for the musical adventure that is
2016. I still have a couple of posts that need finishing for 2015 but what with
the busy Christmas period, a drink-fuelled new year, back to work and a slight
bit of man flu, I have finally finished my post for mine and Emma’s trip to
Brighton to see The Rocky Horror Show (on 19th December; I know it’s
been ages, thank god I have a good memory). Before I get on with that I think I
need to give you the details that we nearly didn’t reach the south coast. We
left early ready for the trip and didn’t hit much traffic expecting to grab a
bit of energy or fuel (no doubt a pint) in the capital before catching the
train to Brighton. We somehow arrived late at Cockfosters station and rushed on
the tube to get to central London. We’re sat on the tube heading to the first
stop when Emma decides she cannot find her phone anywhere and realises she has
left it back in the car at Cockfosters ……. seriously? Getting off at the next
stop, hopping back onto the returning train where muggins here decides he will
run back and get the phone (as we have a train from Victoria to catch in 40
minutes); I said I would go as I am faster (definitely not as fast as I was in
my P.E. lessons and I was no Usain Bolt then either). I grab the phone, run
back to the tube and eventually we are on the way to Victoria when we come to a
halt on the line; “can you remove the bags from the door”, “I cannot start the
train until the item is removed from the door”, everyone is looking at everyone
looking at all the closed doors, “there is still an item in the door and the
train cannot go until it is removed”, OH MY GOD we are going to be late for Brighton
and miss our train, and miss Rocky Horror, the weekend that has not yet
happened flashes before my eyes. Well we made it and had a fantastic weekend in
Brighton (drinking and trying to eat – gag at the ham and cheese toastie) and
panic subsides. Well it all seems a bit dramatic putting it into writing.
Brighton Theatre Royal has yet to
feature in this blog so welcome to you. I have only been to Brighton Theatre
Royal once before and that was two years ago to see, you guessed it, The Rocky
Horror Show. The Theatre Royal in Brighton is a lovely little theatre just up
from the sea front and in the heart of the city centre. I love the theatre as
they allowed us to buy our programmes during the day as there was no way I
could store it later on with what I had planned to wear (see below for
pictures). The theatre has taken a somewhat unconventional approach towards
pantomimes and decides to put on big musicals such as Rocky Horror and
Priscilla (why not!) during the festive period. The theatre was opened in 1807
and seats over 900 people over four levels. It is a very pretty and picturesque theatre
and I have only ever been there dressed as a sweet transvestite, I do need to
visit dressed in my smart reviewers attire.
The Rocky Horror Show is an amazing show and
features in my top three without a doubt (Cats being #1 of course). I am not
sure whether it is the audience participation aspect, the lack of the notorious
fourth wall, the fact you can dress up and put some make up on or just that it’s
a crazy and whacky story, with some interesting and peculiar characters and a
fantastic score (probably the latter two). Rocky Horror is an original musical
and when I first saw it on film many years ago (thanks to my late step-mother
Sarah Burgess <3 ) I was hooked and shocked by what was on the screen, in a
good way. Richard O’Brien’s fantastic creation has entertained millions of
people across the world with its amazing music and pertinent lyrics. Rocky
Horror arrived on the stages of London in 1973, with O’Brien writing the music,
lyrics and book. My favourite songs include ‘Wild and Untamed Thing’, ‘Double
Feature/Science Fiction’, ‘Sweet Transvestite’, ‘Planet, Schmanet, Janet’, ‘Rose
Tint My World’ and ‘Whatever Happened to Saturday Night’. The whole score is
great with not one song I dislike, however some songs worth a separate mention,
the playlist often features in my car on a long journey, just wish I was in my
stockings too. Since 1973 Rocky Horror has been on countless UK tours, reaching
Broadway quickly and Australia soon to follow. Two years after the west End O’Brien
created the film, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, with many of the original West
End cast reprising their roles; including O’Brien himself as Riff Raff, Tim
Curry as Frank N. Furter, Nell Campbell as Columbia and Patricia Quinn as Magenta.
The film is amazing and if you haven’t seen it, who are you – stop wasting time
reading this and go find it J. Rocky Horror
won the 1973 Evening Standard Award for Best Musical (not receiving any for the
original Broadway production). I find it crazy that Rocky Horror has only ever
received nominations since this and has not received the high-acclaimed accolades
it deserves for one of the best musicals ever written.
The performance we saw was amazing
and the theatre was full of crazy Rocky Horror fans all dressed up to the heels
and back, us included. We met a couple by the bar (typical!) and got chatting
to them and they were absolutely lovely (hello Hayley and Alan) and they were
from Suffolk (my birth place) how crazy is that; I think that is bizarre as we
were in Brighton but Emma wasn’t impressed. We also received lots of (un)wanted
attention from other theatre-goers as we looked fabulous, me as Frank N.
Further (my back was killing me for at least five days) and Emma as Columbia in
her sparkly and glittery gold outfit. The performance was directed by
Christopher Luscombe and the set designed by Hugh Durrant. The set for me
almost reminds me of a pantomime with very cartoony and animated sets of sceneries,
buildings and a car but it works really well. Sue Blane designs the costumes
and they are fabulous; the easy ones must have been Magenta and Riff Raff but
when it comes to Frank N. Further is must have been a ball to design. Rocky
must also have taken her ages (haha!). As the show goes on the costumes get
better and better and camper and camper, it’s so much fun to watch. Choreography
is by Nathan Wright and I cannot exactly talk about dancing without mentioning
the Time Warp which is immense especially for us audience members who get to
join in the show with the dance moves, it’s just a jump to the left!
Diana Vickers (possibly best known
for her participation in the 2008 series of X-Factor) plays Janet and I was so
pleased. I watched Vickers on x-factor each week and enjoyed her performances
as she grew as a performer. Her voice is very well suited to the role of Janet
playing boring old Janet Weiss at the beginning but soon letting her real
personality out throughout the performance with some saucy songs which Vickers
sings great. Her acting is surprisingly good as well. Janet’s fiancé, Brad Majors,
is played by Ben Freeman, well known for his gorgeous looks in Emmerdale
however when it comes to geeky and plain he still pulls of geek hunk. Freeman
was an awesome Brad and sings beautifully, being no stranger to some big named
theatre shows (including Wicked, The Sound of Music and Legally Blonde). The one and only Frank N. Furter is portrayed
by Liam Tamne who was bloody brilliant; he makes a fantastic transvestite with
some hot moves, delicious thighs and a fabulous voice to add to the mix. Tamne who
is no stranger to the West End stage neither, has performed in some well-known
shows including Les Mis, Phantom of the Opera and Wicked. I have also seen
Oliver Thornton play Frank N. Further (as well as in Priscilla) and he is also fantastic
bringing his own quirkiness to the character.
Comedian Steve Punt, well known for
some of his radio shows and comedy acts, portrays the Narrator. It must be so
difficult to play the Narrator as he is the character that typically gets all
the ad lib, heckling and abuse from the audience (which is still hilarious and
takes place each night wherever Rocky Horror goes). He plays the Narrator well
and adds his own comedic style to the role. Paul Cattermole, known for his S
Club 7 years, plays Eddie and Dr Scott. Rocky was ……… a really good actor and
singer although he was wearing animal print and not gold. However his six-pack
made up for that and I ended up not paying much attention to the animal print
after all. The rest of the cast create a fully-fledged camp, trans and
beautiful lot, including Kristian Lavercombe as Riff Raff, Sophie Linder-Lee as
Columbia and Kay Murphy as Magenta. All in all The Rocky Horror Show is
immense, whacky, out of this world, funny, sexy and AMAZING! I cannot say any
more than that apart from it is still on tour and needs to be seen. Currently showing
at the Opera House in Manchester, it will soon be visiting a theatre near you
(including Birmingham, Liverpool, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Nottingham, Sheffield and
Aberdeen). It really is worth a watch and if you can’t get out to the theatre
at least watch the film.
Remember to get in touch on Twitter
@AaronBurgess89 and leave some comments or ask a question. Until next time hope
you all stay musical and healthy.
Aaron Burgess
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