As a wheelchair user, the thought of going to the theatre can be quite daunting because of accessibility issues. From the outset, I was made to feel like a very welcome member of the audience.
The cast was made up of Phillip Franks (as the narrator), Stephen Webb (as Frank N Furter), Callum Evans (as Rocky), Laura Harrison (as Magenta/Usherette), Kristian Lavergome (as Riff Raff), Ben Adams (as Brad), Joanne Clifton (as Janet), Miracle Chance (as Columbia), Ross Chisari (as Eddie/Dr Scott) and Reece Budin, Shelby Farmer, Katie Monks, Jake Small (as Phantoms).
This was by far one of the most amazing live performances I have ever seen. For those of you who are fans of The Rocky Horror Show then you will understand what it feels like to actually watch it live, for those of you who have not seen it live then this is how it feels to watch the live performance rather than watching the movie. It is the same as when books are made into movies and the book fans say the movie doesn't do the book justice. The movie does not do the live performance justice.
How the show started alone had me on the edge of my seat ready for more to come. The show starts with the song Science Fiction/Double which was sung by Laura Harrison. All the songs were sung to perfection in my opinion, they were so upbeat and electrifying which made it so easy for everyone to want to get up and dance. Many members of the audience actually did get up and dance when the song Time Warp was being sung during the show and after the show.
In my opinion what sold me on the show besides how the songs was the audience participation. There was moments where it was so perfectly orchestrated, that it did make me wonder if someone was placed in the audience to give the show more comedic moments.
The scenes that made me think this, were the ones with the narrator. He would pause during his sentences so members from the audience would finish his sentences. His responses were very well structured, however if it was genuine audience participation (people shouting out from the audience) and not someone planted in the audience, then the narrator was amazing when it came to giving quick and witty responses. An example of this was that someone in the audience made a sexual comment and the narrator replied with something on the lines of “perhaps you would like to use Tinder…or maybe Grindr”. Though this performance was electrifying and had the audience in a trance there was one thing that could have been improved. This was the fact that the audience was quite spread out. The theatre could have moved people closer together and closer to the stage so that there could have been more of a community feel to the show.
There were people within the audience who were dressed as characters from the show, I assume those people have seen the show most likely more than once. Even though it was my first time seeing the show I would say the same thing that I believe they would say about it, this is that it was a show where you can get lost in the plot and just enjoy the bazar and weirdness of it all. The Rocky Horror Show is a performance and experience you must go to theatre to see for yourself.
The cast deserved all the loud applauses and cheering they got at the end of the show because of how they brought the characters to life and for the spectacular singing they did. I also think that a real huge thanks should go out to those who did costumes. Though some of the costumes were simple things such as suits and dresses for the characters of Brad, Janet and the Narrator, there was costumes such as the ones for the characters of Magenta, Columbia and Frank N Furter were those of fishnets, leather corsets and sparkly waist coats. Also a huge well done to lighting and effects, the orchestra and to all other staff for making the night one to remember.
