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Horror show rocks on and on
Stocking filler: Oliver Thornton revels and reveals as Frank The Rocky Horror Show Wolverhampton Grand **** THIS is the 40th anniversary of the show
which has toured worldwide since its inception by author Richard O'Brien
and on the opening night of the Wolverhampton run it was not difficult
to see why it is still going strong. Brash, naughty, and fun, it combines a great rock
n roll soundtrack, bright, larger than life characters, plenty of exotic
costumes both on stage and in the auditorium, and panto-style audience
involvement. The plot is simple enough, a homage to tacky
science fiction and B movies played as a rock n roll musical. On the way to visit an old college professor, two
clean-cut kids, Brad Majors and his fiancée Janet Weiss, run into tyre
trouble and seek help at the site of a light down the road. It's coming
from the Frankenstein place, where Dr Frank'n'furter is in the midst of
one of his maniacal experiments… What impresses is the energy and verve of the
cast and the quality of singing and performance. Jayde Westaby as the usherette (and later
Magenta), sets a formidable standard with the opening Science
Fiction/Double Feature which never lets up till the house lights
turn on. Philip Franks is outstanding as the Narrator, dealing
imperiously with the ritual audience ad libs coming his way. Frank n
Furter is played with an arrogant, knowing insouciance by Oliver
Thornton, corrupting, camping it up, but most importantly clearly having
a very good time.
The winners of television talent shows can suffer
artistic snobbery from those jealous of their short-cut to fame, yet Ben
Forster, who secured his break as Jesus in the Arena production of Jesus
Christ Superstar, delivered the part of nerdy Brad with understated
assuredness, and a fine vocal performance. The set, by Hugh Durrant, was simple, effective
and kitsch, the music, played from an elevated gallery, rather than the
orchestra pit, was razor sharp under the direction of Tony Castro, and
the choreography by Nathan Wright was snappy, tight, and louche. Any show needs an audience and the Rocky Horror
crowd are a devoted lot. The talk in the bar was not only of how many
previous shows individuals had seen, but how many performances on this
tour alone had been attended. Dressing up is de rigueur, each
number is enthusiastically applauded and the cognoscenti vie to offer
their own ad libs using their encyclopaedic knowledge of the script. A well-deserved standing ovation closed the show
as did a mass dance and sing along with Time Warp. It reflected
the warmth of a marvellous, entertaining show and a cast who had given
it their all. The entire cast deliver on entertainment, acting
and singing in a fine show which shows every sign of having many years
more life in it. It is a party to which all are invited, and all are
invited to let themselves go, just for one night. If you haven't seen
this production book a ticket now, if you have, go again! To 02-11-13.
And warped in from the back . . . **** THIS must be the ultimate in audience
participation shows, with the customers firing saucy comments at the
cast and receiving some stinging ad lib replies from the stage. It's all part of the fun in Richard O'Brien's
hilarious cult rock 'n' roll musical which has reached the end of its
40th anniversary UK tour in Wolverhampton before moving to Australia,
where 52, 000 tickets have been snapped up in just two weeks. Even before curtain up you can enjoy watching the
fans arriving in a weird assortment of costumes - men in fishnet
stockings, suspenders, high heels, basques and wigs, while their
partners flash the flesh in revealing dresses. Then the insults start to fly when the Narrator,
beautifully played by Shakespearean actor Philip Franks, begins to
explain the plight of squeaky clean sweethearts Brad Majors and Janet
Weiss when their car blows a tyre in a storm and they seek help at the
eerie home of transvestite Dr Frank-N-Furter. Oliver Thornton sparkles as Frank, and there are
slick performances from ITV Superstar winner Ben Forster (Brad) and 2012
Strictly Come Dancing finalist Dani Harmer (Janet), with Kristian
Lavercome amusing as the creepy Riff Raff and Henry Davis a lively
Rocky. The audience are warned that the show has rude
parts - none ruder than the double bed scenes involving Frank and the
unsuspecting Brad and Janet. With all that visual stuff going on, though,
there is much to enjoy with songs like Time Warp, Damn it Janet
and Sweet Transvestite. To 02. 11. 13 Paul Marston
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