If you want a side-splittingly funny, raunchy, musical spectacular then look no further than The Rocky Horror Picture Show which opened last night at Dartford’s The Orchard Theatre. It had been a while since I last saw the movie and was full of antici….pation for experiencing the extravaganza that was the live show.
The Rocky Horror Show is a musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O’Brien designed to be a tongue in cheek tribute to the science fiction and horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s. The show stars Strictly Come Dancing professional champion Joanne Clifton as Janet, Stephen Webb as Dr Frank n Furter, Philip Franks as The Narrator, directed by Christopher Luscombe.
The show includes timeless musical classics, including Sweet Transvestite, Damn it Janet, and of course, the Time Warp which had the audience up on their feet dancing along with the cast (including me!) The whole performance was full of audience participation. Philip Franks, the narrator, did particularly well with extraordinary ad-libbed commentary on current topics and coping seemlessly with audience members who called out during his lines. It was hard to differentiate these intrusions as scripted or not due to the quality of Philip’s responses,
The Rocky Horror Show is the story of two squeaky clean college kids – Brad and his fiancée Janet. whose car breaks down outside a creepy mansion whilst on their way to visit their former college professor. By knocking on the door they are pulled into the world of a mad transvestite scientist, Dr Frank-N-Furter who is celebrating the creation of his Frankenstein-style monster, a fully grown, physically perfect muscle man named Rocky Horror, and naturally, all manner of bizarre and risque madness ensues.
I have already mentioned how fantastic Philip Franks was as the Narrator and the other members of the cast didn’t disappoint. I was blown away by Joanne Clifton’s voice which was particularly strong and Stephen Webb’s portrayal of Frank-N-Furter was both disturbing and fabulous.
I have to mention the extraordinary costumes used in the performance which were just astounding. Particularly the be-sequinned Columbia and outrageous corsets and stockings that all the cast wore at the end of the performance. The set itself was exciting with plenty to draw the eye and was the perfect scenery to show off the cast and move along the plot.
Of course no musical can be without an extraordinary band and The Rocky Horror Picture Show is no exception. I loved the bold brass section complete with punchy saxophone and Santana style sweet electric guitar which really shone through in the big numbers and made all the difference to the experience.
I heartily recommend the show to Rocky Horror enthusiasts and newbies alike, I am sure you will be talking about the scandelious costumes, erotic plot and hysterical comedy for weeks. I award the show 5 out of 5 stars.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is running from Mon 23rd – Sat 28th September 2019: Mon – Thu7:30PM, Fri 6PM, 9PM, Sat 5PM, 8PM.
For more information and to book tickets visit the Orchard Theatre Website.
Check out the trailer below for a sneaky peek:
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