Richard O’Brien on Rocky Horror Show's return to London stage - and his role in Crystal Maze 'day out'

There will be 11 performances at the London's Playhouse Theatre in September before a nationwide tour kicks off in December.

Performing the role in the UK for the first time in more than 20 years, Richard – the show’s creator who is also known for presenting 90s game show The Crystal Maze – will appear as the narrator on the London stage.

Rock Horror Show creator Richard O’Brien in costume (Joel Ryan/PA)

Fans of the musical, which originally opened in 1973, often dress up when they go to see the show.

Speaking about its enduring success, Richard, 73, said: “Acting is only dressing up and making believe.

“I think we have to understand that, and I know we give awards… we talk about performance in acting, and art and it all gets very lofty, but the truth of the matter is it’s dressing up and making believe.

“All that silly, wonderful, childish joy of dressing up and making believe is what theatre is made of, and Rocky is full of that, and I think a lot of the audience understand that as well.”

Richard on stage with cast of The Rocky Horror Show in 2013 (Ian West/PA)

Richard said he does not think anyone realised just how successful the show would be when it all began.

“And here we are 40 years later,” he said.

The show, which premiered at the Royal Court Theatre on June 19, 1973, tells the story of Brad and Janet who seek refuge in a castle filled with rock ‘n’ roll characters such as Frank ‘n’ Furter.

Richard starred in the film adaptation The Rocky Horror Picture Show two years later.

Richard O’Brien created The Rocky Horror Show (Joel Ryan/PA)

A gala charity performance of Rocky Horror on September 17 will be broadcast live from the Playhouse Theatre to cinemas across the UK and Europe.

It will be in aid of Amnesty International and will feature a number of celebrity guests.

Richard is perhaps most famous among a certain generation for his role on The Crystal Maze, and he said there are plans to create a sort of Crystal Maze “day out”.

He said he has been told it will be a “theme park kind of show” and that he will be filmed welcoming people to it.

Richard O’Brien is best known for hosting The Crystal Maze (Adam Butler/PA)

“I’ve been assured that it’s going to be high quality,” he said, but added that he does not know where it is or how it will work.

Asked if he would like to get involved in a new TV series of The Crystal Maze, he said: “That would be nice, because I think it was a rather interesting show, it was quite joyous… certainly wouldn’t involve me. I’m far too old for that.”

Tickets for The Rocky Horror Show and cinema screenings of the gala performance go on sale today.

There will be performances at the Playhouse Theatre from September 11–19, and the tour will open at the Theatre Royal Brighton on December 17.