Peter Viney's Blog

By Richard O’Brien

2024 / 2025 Tour
Directed by Christopher Luscombe
Set Design by Hugh Durrant
Costume by Sue Blane

Theatre Royal Bath
Saturday 19th October 2024, 17.00

CAST
Jason Donovan as Frank N Furter
In order of appearance
Natasha Hoeberigs – Usherette
Lauren Chia – Janet
Connor Carson – Brad
Nathan Caton – Narrator
Job Greuter – RiffRaff
Natasha Hoeberigs – Magenta
Jayme-Lee Zanocelli – Columbia
Morgan Jackson – Rocky
Edward Bullingham – Eddie
Edward Bullingham – Dr Scott
Ryan Carter- Wilson – Phantom
Arthur Jones – Phantom
Hollie Nelson – Phantom
Erica Wild – Phantom
Alex Hetherington – Swing
Stacey Monahan – Swing / dance captain

BAND
Josh Sood- MD, keyboards
Ollie Boorman – drums
Dan Humphreys – bass guitar
Liam Spencer-Smith – guitar
Dave Webb – reeds

We have history here. Fifty-one years ago we were in the Chelsea Classic Cinema to see the original with Tim Curry as Frank N Furter and Richard O’Brien as Riff Raff. The production started at the Royal Court upstairs (63 seats) and moved to the derelict cinema in Kings Road (230 seats), on the corner of Markham Road. I even remember parking very close to the theatre, in those days when one thought it worth driving from Earls Court to Kings Road and expected to park too. The production was a shock, and totally stunning. It was 1973. The year of glam rock. David Bowie had shot to mega-stardom with Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust. Marc Bolan was glittering on Top of the Pops. Everywhere was the low spark of high-heeled boys.

Then in our weekly shows, we had a long Frankenstein sketch and a long Dracula sketch. I was heavily into Universal’s Frankenstein movies, though with Dracula I was torn between Bela Lugosi and the later Hammer Christopher Lee films. We later did Frankenstein: The Pantomime one Christmas (a version that was produced elsewhere twice) though that had no influence from The Rocky Horror Show.

The (excellent) programme describes how the film The Rocky Horror Picture Show flopped, then a year later it had tuned into a campus cult movie. I had never realised how much. We queued for half an hour to get in. They have elaborate bag checks. A man in the queue had worked in the theatre last time it was in Bath, 37 years ago, and said the cult fans brought rice, toilet rolls and confetti to throw, hence the bag checks. If you go on the tour, go in plenty of time. Bath was exacerbated by having Oktoberfest (WTF?) the same weekend, so we had people in lederhosen and dirndls strolling about. If they were on the same person, it would be Rocky Horror Show, if on different genders, Oktoberfest.

A lot of people in the audience dressed up, slapped on the make up and sex shop clothes or glitter (or Brad and Janet lab coats).

I separate Jason Donovan at the top because he did the 25th Anniversary production, then the 50th in Australia and is now on tour. It’s a long tour too, and I prefer reviewing things YOU can see. Bath is the first week. Back in the hit days, backing musicians were sniffy about his singing, but he’s had thirty years as a major musicals star since.

It was odd timing. Two evening shows rather than a matinee, so a 5 o’clock start. How had we got there? My daughter was a Jason and Kylie and Neighbours fan and had all their records. She saw him in Joseph in London last year and he was very sweet, posed for photos and signed annuals for her and my granddaughters. We were booking other shows at Bath, saw this one selling fast, and grabbed two tickets. We phoned her and said, try and get two more, if not you can have ours. But she’s in Spain this year. So there we were. And a thrill it was to be there too. The theatre was packed full and they even had standing tickets. I’ve never seen such a young (i.e. under 65) crowd, nor such a buzz of anticipation at Bath. We hadn’t realised that the audience would know when to stand and wave arms and shimmy, and that cat calling and heckling was normal. Hence the bag searches.

The Narrator (Nathan Caton) is constantly heckled, but they are opportune, so a plant. In the best stand up traditions, the heckling led to current comments (on Al Fayed, Huw Edwards). There were also calls from elsewhere (Show us your willie! was right behind us). It’s expected.

First off, the band is brilliant. Having seen live bands twice in a week with Redlands (also excellent) and This is Elvis (not so good) they stood head and shoulders above the rest. The songs are great and always were. The singing is great all round.

I think plot or synopsis is irrelevant. Just a few words. The cinema usherette introduces it with song. There’s a courting couple in a car (Brad and Janet … Connor Carson and Lauren Chia), the car breaks down.

They seek refuge in the nearby castle, where they are greeted by Riff Raff (Job Greuber) an Ygor figure who mentions the ‘master.’ (The classic. We also used this in an ELT video, though in ours they walk into a fancy dress party). Major characters in the castle are Magenta (Natasha Hoeberigs) and Columbia (Jayme-Lee Zanocelli).

The master is Frank N Furter (Jason Donovan) in fishnet tights and suspender belt. The musical is full of fishnets and suspenders. It’s a fetish I never understood, or never perceived as attractive, but whatever turns you on.

Frank has an entourage of Phantoms, plus his main servants, Riff Raff ad Magenta, and Columbia, who is in love with him.

He introduces them to his laboratory, where he is creating a body builder boy, Rocky (Morgan Jackson), as a sex object. Frank seduces both Brad and Janet.

He also does a Texas Chainsaw Massacre on rock singer Eddie (Edward Bullingham).The ending switches to sci-fi. Enough!

I can’t remember 51 years ago in detail. It was raunchy indeed for its era, but I doubt if the goings on were quite as explicit as in 2024. The choreography and timing are spot on.

It’s directed by Christopher Luscombe, and if we’d known that, we’d have booked it on that alone.

The band are above the stage. The sound for mic’d performers and rock band is as good as you can get – and Bath Theatre Royal is not an easy venue to get right. It was as good as Chichester Festival Theatre, which is our benchmark. The lighting incorporates lasers and is rock concert state of the art. So much effort has been poured into every aspect.

What a show! You’re not allowed to take photos, but in the final curtain call / dance, everyone around us was (most them videos) so it gives the atmosphere. It is a rock concert thing that ‘no photos’ is ignored for the curtain call. It was an instant “no hesitation” 100% standing ovation. That’s rare.

Overall? We will go and see it again when it gets to Bournemouth in February.

*****

THE TOUR – you really should be able to make one of these THIRTY-FOUR venues:

WHAT THE CRITICS SAID

At this point only local press. It’s not going to central London, so the national press won’t be greatly interested.

LINKS ON THIS BLOG
CHRISTOPHER LUSCOMBE director
Private Lives, Nigel Havers Company on tour, 2021
The Argument, Theatre Royal Bath 2019
The Nightingales, Chichester 2018
Travels With My Aunt, Chichester 2016
Twelfth Night, RSC 2017
Love’s Labour’s Lost– RSC 2014
Love’s Labour’s Won RSC 2014
Love’s Labour’s Lost, RSC / Chichester 2016
Much Ado About Nothing, RSC / Chichester 2016
While The Sun Shines,  by Terence Rattigan, Bath 2016
Nell Gwynne, Globe 2015