I am going to begin this article with a trigger warning. According to Leeds Heritage Theatres’ website, this show ‘contains mature adult themes…’ I would venture to suggest that it contains many more immature adult themes, just what we wanted really, as maturity goes out of the window when you are out for a night of fun and frolics.
I am afraid that I will be unable to name all of those who participated in this production, as that would mean mentioning about a third of the audience. Not only were they dressed in tribute to their favourite characters, but a lot of them must have seen this show many times because they were also heckling in unison at the appropriate moments. These, what seemed to be well rehearsed, interjections were hilarious to begin with, and gave the magnificent Narrator, Nathan Eaton, ample opportunity to provide extremely witty, if somewhat near the bone, ripostes. Being amateurs, however, a few of the shouters, didn’t realise that the secret of good comedy is knowing when to shut up, and went off-script, still blurting out, what was now, rubbish until the actors ignored them and the audience stopped laughing.
The Narrator, Nathan Caton.
That said, the way in which this piece is written and performed is so skilfully constructed as to be able to overcome any interruption. I believe that a couple of pre-theatre tinctures in nearby hostelries are de rigueur for those appropriately – or inappropriately – dressed. Actually, although standing out in a spit and sawdust boozer at seven in the evening in Leeds City Centre, I should imagine that on Saturday night at the curtain’s fall, they would blend in almost unnoticed in some of the bars in town, especially just down the road in Lower Briggate.
The innocent college kids. Janet, played by Lauren Chia and Brad, Connor Carson, caught in the rain with a flat tyre. Not the first young couple to be let down by a piece of faulty rubber.
The plot doesn’t take much explaining, in that a couple of naive college kids, Brad Majors, played by Connor Carson, and Janet, Lauren Chia, are on their way to visit their old science tutor, Dr Everett Scott, played this evening by Ryan Carter-Wilson, when they have a flat tyre in the middle of a violent rainstorm. This being before the days of mobiles, they walk through the storm – with hope in their heart – to a nearby castle, where they request to use the phone. I told you they were innocent, at least for the time being. The couple are greeted by Riff Raff, the hunchback butler, Job Greuter, and his sister, Magenta, the maid, Natasha Hoeberigs. They are led into the premises where they hear Magenta in conversation with Columbia, a groupie, played by Jayme-Lee Zanoncelli, about Eddie, again played by Ryan Carter-Wilson, who came to a bad end in the place. Brad and Janet realise what everyone in the building had worked out ages ago, and try to leave. Enter, the castle’s owner, Dr Frank N Furter, played by none other than Jason Donovan, especially for us. He tells them that he is ‘a sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania’ who is also a mad scientist. That’s all bases covered then. He lures them into his laboratory where he gets them to strip down to their underwear so that their clothes might be sent to dry. They are given lab coats to protect their modesty, which is the last they will see of that particular virtue.
Frank N Furter, Jason Donovan, no – really! At work in his laboratory.
Frank tells the pair that he has discovered the secret of life and reveals his creation, a blond, totally ripped man, named Rocky, posed by Morgan Jackson. Actually he is no mean singer and dancer either, I’m sure there must be something about him I like! A freezer opens and a second human experiment emerges. This time it was one of the less successful attempts, Eddie, a biker, an ex of both Frank and Columbia, who he now wants to rescue. Frank soon puts a stop to this with help from a chain saw.
Frank N Furter’s first human creation gets off to a Rocky start. Morgan Jackson plays the result.
After this, somewhat unconventional, welcome and tour of the castle, Brad and Janet are taken to their – separate – bedrooms. Heaven forfend that any shenanigans should be allowed.
We were then given twenty minutes to compose ourselves and watch the half time parade of the more flamboyant members of the audience as they got another drink, or ice cream, mostly a drink.
The second half kicked off with the Narrator stating, what Basil Fawlty described as, ‘the bleedin’ obvious’, by telling us that Brad and Janet might be a little unsafe! It gave him a chance to engage in more comedy banter with the paying customers.
The cast. The actors in black are Phantoms. Arthur Janes, Hollie Nelson, Erica Wild and Ryan Carter-Wilson, who played Dr Scott and Eddie tonight. The main characters left to right: Rocky – Morgan Jackson, Janet – Lauren Chai, Riff Raff – Job Greuter, Frank N Furter – Jason Donovan, Dr Scott – Edward Bellingham (but not tonight) Magenta – Natasha Hoeberigs, Columbia – Jayme-Lee Zanoncelli, and Brad – Connor Carson.
Frank is nothing if not adaptable, and when the Narrator leaves the stage, we see a vertical double bed, with Janet’s sleeping face on the pillow. This was an introduction to an hilarious set piece on which I will not elaborate too much, save to say that after a bit of undercover furtive action – well, under the covers – Frank’s head appears next to Janet’s whose face has morphed into a broad smile.
This routine was quickly followed by a similar set up in Brad’s room where Mr Furter makes another surprise entry, and I did chose the word carefully. This act is witnessed by Janet on a cctv screen in the laboratory, a device which has broadcast her own tryst with Frank a few minutes earlier, much to the amusement of the rest of the household. Janet’s dalliance causes Brad to become hurt and angry – at Janet, not Frank – and he throws a strop. Riff Raff informs Frank that there is another visitor entering the castle, Dr Everett Scott, the man who was the reason of Brad and Janet’s trip.
Frank holding court
Dr Scott is confined to a wheelchair and pushed into the laboratory by Columbia, where Frank accuses him and Brad, of spying on behalf of the FBI. Dr Scott says he is there searching for Eddie, who is his nephew. Frank shows Eddie’s corpse to the group and then zaps Brad, Janet, Dr Scott and Rocky, leaving them immobilised. Frank reveals that Magenta, Riff Raff and he are all aliens who abandoned their mission as he wanted to stay to have kinky sex with Earthlings and work on creating Rocky. Magenta urges that they go back to their home planet, but Frank refuses as he says he wants to put on a floor show!
Columbia leads the cast in a bit of a boogie.
This is an excuse to ramp up the party for the big finish, so we have several musical numbers involving quite a bit of writhing and general carnal stuff. I think that the Director, Christopher Luscombe, should be put in charge of Strictly Come Dancing. A shame that John Sergeant and Ann Widdecombe have already appeared. What a show that would have been.
The action is swiftly brought to a halt after Frank’s final plea to be able to stay for more rumpy pumpy is denied with Riff Raff zapping Columbia, Frank and Rocky, before throwing out Dr Scott, Brad and Janet and heading back into space with Magenta. This is a cue for audience and cast to – you guessed it – Do The Time Warp Again.
Frank breaking the news in song to Columbia that she is dumped. Such sensitivity!
The work is imaginatively staged right from the opening, which sees a cinema usherette, Natasha Hoeberigs, complete with ice cream tray, introducing tonight’s film. She is standing in front of a curtain, ruched in the same pattern as used to be a fixture of the flicks. She returned at the end, when the same curtain fell, to recap the night’s events. In fact, she was also seen later in the foyer as we left.
This is the second time I have seen this show, and I must say, it was much better than the first. I have just reread my original review and I wrote that it was obvious that the heckling I mentioned, was emanating from the orchestra, with inane ones coming from the audience. Tonight, the band was seated on an elevated section at the back of the stage, so, unless there were plants, the heckling was real.
The other change was that the part of Frank N Furter was played by someone of whom I had never heard. That doesn’t mean that he was bad, in fact I wrote that he was amazing, especially in his mood swings. Jason Donovan, however, had the edge, simply because he has an image based on the sugary sweet character in Neighbours, meaning you would have thought he would have been more suitable for the part of Brad, if given a radical nip and tuck! To see that callow fellow from down under, doing some of the things he was doing – still down under – was a huge culture shock.
Nathan Caton as The Narrator was brilliant. His come-back lines to the audience were the best pieces of dialogue in the whole piece. He also made references to current affairs, such as Russell Brand’s trial, which, given that the show was written by Richard O’Brien fifty-two years ago, gave it added relevance.
The set, Designed by Hugh Durrant, was also clever, not only in morphing between rooms in the castle, but, as mentioned, the band was seated high above the back of the stage in compartments constructed to look like an unwinding reel of film, a further cinema reference.
Eddie, the rocker, – Edward Bellingham (but tonight played by Ryan Carter-Wilson) let’s rip, or should that be RIP. Note the band in the compartments made to look like film cells.
The Lighting Designer, Nick Richlings, played a blinder, almost literally, when, on a couple of occasions, extremely strong white beams were trained on the faces of the actors, making it look as though their heads were glowing. Obviously, being a horror story, there was also a range of flashes and sinister effects.
The Costume Designer, Sue Blane, had obviously made a few trips to the Ann Summers sales to pick up damaged seconds from the underwear department, possibly other stuff as well, but that’s her affair. At the other extreme, Nathan Caton, was immaculate as the Narrator, in paisley satin dinner jacket and black trousers, white shirt and bow tie. I have said it before and I will say it again, you can’t beat good tailoring. At one point, Brad looked like someone straight from Savile Row as well.
The big finish.
The Band, comprising five members, under Director, Josh Sood, – not literally this time – made enough noise to have us imagine that there were twice that number.
The Choreographer, Nathan M Wright, had the cast interpreting the moves brilliantly. The email inviting me to rehearsals must have gone straight to my junk folder, but it didn’t matter, I had The Time Warp nailed.
Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show has done something which not many works in any of the various entertainment mediums have done, in that it has transcended its original cult status to turn itself into an oxymoron by becoming a mainstream cult. (You have no idea how many times I checked that before pressing Publish!)
To see, enjoy, and participate in, Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show, which is at Leeds Grand Theatre until 7th June, please go to https://leedsheritagetheatres.com/whats-on/rocky-horror-2025/
The tour continues for another year so check out the dates and venues at https://rockyhorror.co.uk/tour-dates
To see what else is on at Leeds Heritage Theatres it is https://leedsheritagetheatres.com/whats-on/
Tyke It To The Limit 