Arts > Theatre

The Rocky Horror Show

Norwich Theatre Royal

13/09/16

It’s not until you stop and think about the plot of Rocky Horror that you realise how ass-trippingly insane the whole thing is. A transvestite bisexual alien effectively kidnaps two loved-up virgins, pops their cherries, kills a guy with a chainsaw, then gets found out by a secret Nazi scientist before being zapped by more aliens on the way back to their home planet of ‘Transsexual’. All while wearing a basque and singing suggestive musical numbers. Thought of that way, Rocky Horror should never be on stage again, but it has found a place in a lot of hearts. A deep, dark place filled with sequins and sex toys.

This current production was ruder than I remember previous tours being but it just about stayed the right side of bawdy. From the first note of Science Fiction, Double Feature the audience was singing along. Ten minutes in and people were up and dancing. One mega-fan on the front row had his day made when he caught Janet’s bouquet and despite it being opening night, and a Monday, the heckles came thick and fast.

At the risk of sounding insincere, all the performances were stellar. In particular Richard Meek (who played Brad) had a cracking singing voice and Liam Tamne as Frank N Furter got his fair share of laughs and a mountain of applause. For me though the two standout performances were Kristian Lavercombe in his role as Riff Raff, and Steve Punt as the narrator. Had the role itself been bigger, Kristian would have stolen the show. His ‘handyman’ was the perfect balance of creepy and comedy and he clearly relished playing the part that Richard O’Brien made famous. Steve Punt reacted to the audience like a seasoned pro, going with the flow whenever he felt like it, adlibbing and enjoying the now almost mandatory banter that Rocky Horror elicits, but even he was taken aback at one point. “I didn’t expect this kind of filth in Norwich. In Ipswich maybe…” Which was the cue for appreciative applause and booing respectively.

By the time the show gets to Saturday night it will be a full on riot.