Last night
(12th September 2016) I took my Aunty Wendy to see The Rocky Horror Show at the Norwich Theatre Royal. Mother was supposed to come but couldn’t
make it and I knew Aunty Wendy would thrust herself into the spirits of this
cult musical. Wendy arrived at my parents’ house and was strapped into her
corset; while I was upstairs finishing off my make-up and hoping to god I didn’t
fall down the stairs in my 5-inch heels and break my neck. We had so much fun
driving to the theatre, getting some funny looks on the dual carriageway by some
reserved Norfolk folk was a particular highlight. We arrived in Norwich and
walked to the theatre and started to panic; no one else was dressed up. I was
now getting nervous despite a rioja to calm the nerves and give me confidence
to walk around Norwich in day light in fish net stockings (like I needed the
rioja to have an excuse to put some heels on). Well once we were in the theatre
we realised there was lots of people dressed up, but not as many as I was
expecting. Whether this being a weekday performance or just East Anglia being too
cautious I do not know but I certainly had a fabulous evening. I am returning
to the theatre on Friday evening to attend another performance of Rocky Horror
(which will be my sixth time) with my sister Fern and then we intend to go to
the special after party followed by a few bevvies in the city. I will not
review this performance on Friday but keep a look out for photos,
@AaronBurgess89.
As I have
already mentioned I have seen Rocky Horror on a few occasions and reviewed this
tour late last year when it was in Brighton. I will of course fully review the
show as there have been some cast changes, but I think everyone knows how much
I love Rocky Horror and therefore this is automatically a biased view; stick a
load of people on stage in corsets, feather boas and heels, get them to sing
and dance and make me laugh, well we are definitely onto a winner already. As
always the audience participation in Rocky Horror is such fun, although I still
need to try and learn some of the more famous audience one liners. I love how
we the audience know really what the poor narrator is trying to diplomatically
tell us. The audience erupt with laughter each time a witty theatre colleague
(or just someone that has been far too much to see Rocky Horror) shouts out a
rude comment; and me and Wendy were totally involved in this hilarity. This tour
was produced in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Rocky
Horror Show, with a special live recording being broadcast from London recently.
I cannot believe this show has lasted 40 years, I remember watching the classic
gothic, cult film from a young age and falling in love with the songs, costumes
and at that time strange behaviour (which I now participate in). It certainly
has entertained thousands if not millions of people in its 40 year reign and I have
no doubt it will continue to entertain people for another 40 years (and then I
can get my niblings to take me to the show).
I was
expecting Diana Vickers to be in the role of Janet (who was great last time);
so imagine my delight when I opened the programme to see Haley Flaherty in this
role. I am a big fan of Flaherty’s, first seeing her in the role of Miss Honey
in Matilda. I think we can safely say these two roles are very different in
their presentations and approach and Haley smashes both of them; highlighting
her great versatility on the stage. It is fab to have West End stars coming to
the Theatre Royal in Norwich and I hope more come in the coming touring
productions. Flaherty is a great Janet, her singing voice is phenomenal and I
said to Wendy during her songs you don’t realise you’re seeing a touring
production. Local Norfolk lad Richard Meek plays the role of Brad and I have
not seen him before. Geeky yet sexy, Brad Majors requires an actor with skill
to portray this lost soul as I always see him. Wendy loved his singing voice
and I was not one to disagree; the song Once in a While, Brad’s solo song, was
fantastic and I felt so sorry for little Brad Majors (or not so little the case
may be). My other two favourite performances come from Kristian Lavercombe and
Sophie Linder-Lee. Lavercombe has performed in Rocky Horror over a thousand
times and he has gotten his role as Riff Raff nailed, I would love to see him
as Frank. He has performed alongside the creator of Rocky Horror, Richard O’Brien,
and I am sure O’Brien loves his own role being played by such a professional. Lavercombe
has a wonderful singing voice and his acting as the humped servant is amazingly
funny yet honest. Linder-Lee plays Columbia, the funny character of the
entourage of the castle. She has some great lines and scenes in the whole show
and Linder-Lee presents them on stage as if she has landed her dream job. I
loved watching her dance, sing and have the audience in stitches.
Frank N
Furter is played by Liam Tamne who I saw in the Brighton stop of this tour. I
loved Tamne in the Brighton performance although I was not blown away this time
round in Norwich. I am not sure if he is just ready for a new role as he has
been playing the iconic transvestite for some time. Do not get me wrong Tamne
has a wonderful voice and I have no doubt the audience loved him, but I have
seen better Frank’s. Tamne was singing as if he was auditioning, seeming to put
too much effort in. I have to admit I loved Steve Punt in the role of the
narrator. The narrator has one of if not the most hardest jobs on the stage during Rocky Horror
as this character is usually the one heckled by the audience with funny
comments, rude words and you never quite know what will be said by someone in
that auditorium. He managed it well and was able to stick to the script,
mostly, and keep a straight face. I would be the worst narrator ever as I would
just want to laugh the whole time, but Punt brings his experience of comedy and
stand up to this role and it works amazingly. Paul Cattermole (S Club 7) plays Eddie/Dr Scott
and the gorgeous and stunningly beautiful Dominic Anderson plays Rocky (who has
the best costumes in the show).
Directed by
Christopher Luscombe this Rocky Horror production cannot be missed. Whether you
are a fan of the show or a newbie to this strange word of Transsexual,
Transylvania you will love the songs, costumes and comedy this show brings and
I thank Richard O’Brien immensely for bringing this classic to our stage and
screen. The set of Rocky Horror always makes me laugh how it starts off like a
panto, very fake scenery. I think this is one of its positives and not a
criticism. Sue Blane created the costumes and how much fun getting to stick
people in corsets, heels and giving them a feather boa to run around on stage
with (choreographed of course by Nathan M Wright). Richard Hartley was the
original musical arranger and this production sees Tony Castro as music
supervisor and Ben Van Tienen as music director. I cannot list all the songs,
but I don’t think there is one song I dislike in Rocky Horror. It is an
eclectic soundtrack and something for everyone; even if you prefer the slow
ballad, the racy sexual song or the fun up beat dancing one you will definitely
be up dancing in those aisles and stalls when the Time Warp blasts out.
The current
tour is at Norwich until Saturday 17th September with performances
at 7:30pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and performances at 5:30pm and
8:30pm on the Friday and Saturday. This show is definitely worth seeing; I
cannot shout about how much I love it but my sixth time seeing the show this
Friday tells you that I love it. There is limited availability for the weekend
performances so if you want to see this show at the Theatre Royal, Norwich you
need to get your tickets quick. If anyone is going Friday you will see me in my
fishnets and wig, come and say hello and have a drink. The show is continuing after
Norwich for a brief period and you can catch it at: Eastbourne, Blackpool, Bord
Gais Energy Theatre, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sunderland, Cardiff
and Oxford where I believe this current tour is due to close at the end of
December 2016. However if you unfortunately miss this tour of the classic Rocky Horror Show I will hasten to guess another one will shortly be around the
corner for us all to enjoy once again. Remember, Don’t Dream It, Be It, get in touch
please on Twitter @AaronBurgess89.
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