I must start this review with a disclaimer…. I am a HUGE Rocky Horror Show Fan and have probably lost count of the number of times I have seen this show but I have not seen this tour. I was therefore thrilled to be invited along to the Orchard Theatre to review the current tour of The Rocky Horror Show on the Monday night.

For the Rocky Horror virgins out there the show tells of couple, Brad & Janet whose car breaks down and they find themselves in Frank-N-Furter’s castle and thrown headfirst into the creation of his new plaything ‘Rocky’ and their mission to return to Transsexual Transylvania. This show is not for the easily offended with audience members (myself included) dressed in a variety of garb and the show revolving around sexual innuendo.

This show saw Richard Meek’s first appearance as Brad. He has a great voice and presence on stage although at times I would have liked to see him be a bit more on the geeky side in his body language and posture. Meek worked well with Lauren Ingram who is playing Janet this week at the Orchard. She was given a chance to showcase her powerful voice and played the sweet and innocent Janet very well.

One of the highlights for me was Rocky, played by Dominic Andersen. This part requires certain physical attributes….I.e for him to be muscle clad and look great in tiny pants (which Dominic did very nicely) but Andersen gave it so much more and brought the comedy to the fore with his posing. Despite not having a huge amount of lines he made a huge impact.

Norman Pace took the role of the Narrator and he was well equipped to deal with the audience participation, always ready with a witty retort whilst not letting the audience participation element take over the show.

You also can’t review Rocky Horror without mentioning Frank-N-Furter, played by Liam Tamne. He made for a very frantic Frank which on occasion I would have liked to have seen a bit more stillness from and let the likes of Columbia, Magenta and Riff Raff do the running around for him. However his showmanship was brilliant and he had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand from a few minutes into Sweet Transvestite.

The set design was interesting as whilst it looked slightly cheap it harked back to the days of classic Science Fiction and B movies, especially in Frank-N-Furter’s lab. It did however let the costumes and the action on the stage do most of the talking. Let’s face it, in Rocky Horror that has to be the main focal point.

This is a production of The Rocky Horror Picture show that will please fans and newbies alike. It stays true to the original production whilst bringing fresh elements and choreography to the show. I would recommend you get yourself (in your suspenders and stockings – men & women alike) down to the Orchard Theatre this week.

To book tickets click here.

Musical Theatre Musings at Rocky Horror Show