Review: The Rocky Horror Show at the Mayflower Theatre

As someone who’s only ever seen the film after a few too many drinks, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect on Rocky Horror’s opening night. In fact, I deliberated over whether or not it was okay to wear Doc Marten’s to the theatre ! Had I known about the outfits, I may have donned a pair of fishnets myself. This latest production of Richard O’Brien’s musical was the most fun I’ve ever had at the theatre, not least because of the fun I had seeing the outfits, as a lot of the men had chosen to wear for the night.

Rocky Horror has been popular since it first came about in the early seventies, and still entertains, surprises and even shocks its audiences. This latest production stars Liam Tamne as the sweet transvestite Frank-N-Furter, made famous by Tim Curry, a role allowing him to show off his incredible voice and impressive physical presence. His finale songs, ‘Don’t Dream It’ and ‘Going Home’ were quite beautiful and had me hooked – in fact, his whole performance really made the show come alive for me.

Diana Vickers and Ben Freeman play Brad, the young couple who get more than they bargained for when they walked into the castle one night. Man servant Riff Raff almost stole the show for me, played by Kristian Lavercombe. However, it was Steve Punt as Narrator who, with his incredible ad-libbing, really made me love it. As he said, ‘Blimey, for a Monday night you’re well up for it, aren’t you?’

The most fun I’ve had at the theatre, Rocky Horror was an incredible night, even for a relative newcomer.

Words by Carly-May Kavanagh .

Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show really is a one of a kind show, for instance I can’t think of another show where the audience rehearses as much as the cast! This performance really was genuinely exceptional though! The quality of the cast, set, music and yes the audience too was spot on!

The show starred Diana Vickers as Janet, Ben Freeman as Brad, Liam Tamne as Frank-N-Furter and Steve Punt as the narrator, all who gave flawless performances. Punt, in particular, was hilarious, bantering with the crowd as they shouted lines at him but keeping them in check too! Only Richard Meek, who played Eddie and Dr Scott, faltered during ‘Hot Patootie Bless My Soul’ but I guess no show is without hiccups.

I think Kay Murphy also deserves mention for her performance of ‘Science Fiction Double Feature’ because she put so much character into it. In previous incarnations I’ve seen the song performed robotically for effect, think of the Rocky Horror Picture Show opening, but Murphy made it different and her own. She was also a fantastic Magenta, creepy, wacky and so not PG!

Dominic Andersen as Rocky was very impressive vocally and physically especially during ‘I Can Make You Man’, all those press ups and such were making the temperature rise a bit.

The set and lighting were perhaps the best I’ve seen for the show, Frank ‘n’ Furter’s castle was both simple and extravagant, like the set felt clean and uncluttered even with the full cast on stage. I also loved how you could see the raised above the set. The final scenes were fantastic, using smoke machines to transport us all the way to Transexual Transylvania.

Over all it was one of the best iterations of Rocky Horror I’ve ever seen and as always a great night of wit, comedy and pure absurdity!

Words by Jenni Derick.

The Rocky Horror Show was at the Mayflower Theatre.