Rocky Horror Show

★★★☆☆      Warp Factor 40

Edinburgh Playhouse: Mon 11 – Sat 16 March 2013
Review by Martin Gray

Celebrating 40 years of sweet transvestites from transsexual Transylvania, the Rocky Horror Show rolls back into town.

And along with it, dozens of fanboys and girls dressed up as the characters – here a Frank-N-Furter, there a Columbia, everywhere a Riff-Raff. But nary a Brad nor a Janet to be seen.

Rocky Horror Show 2013 tour. Oliver Thornton as Frank’n’Furter with cast. Production photography: Manuel Harlan

No-one wants to be the square kids, it seems. The ones who get caught up in night of naughtiness after breaking down on a dark road and spotting a castle with signs of life. Frank and his pervy pals have much more appeal for the students who form the show’s most cultish of cult audiences.

A tribute cum spoof of the cheesy old monster movies that turn up on TV, Richard O’Brien’s musical has a couple of well-known songs, Sweet Transvestite and Time Warp, the latter of which comes with a dance that has the more devoted fans going wild. A couple of other songs are good – Over at the Frankenstein Place is a hummable bubblegum pop piece, while Hot Patootie – Bless My Soul is the rocky number that helped make Meat Loaf’s name. Apart from these, the tunes aren’t especially memorable.

The characters are though, and Oliver Thornton makes a fine fist of Frank, the mad scientist cum drag queen at the centre of the action. He exudes dark charisma, has a soaring singing voice and legs to die for (he likely stole them from a victim). TV talent show find Rhydian Roberts is a suitably buff and blond Rocky, Frank’s greatest creation, and while he moves well and has a heck of a voice, it was difficult at times to make out what he was singing.

Impressive pipes

It wasn’t just Rhydian, though – the first act of this show was hurt by the band drowning out the actors, none of whom lack the talent to sell a song. Sound levels improved in the second half, happily. That’s when Roxanne Pallett as Janet and Sam Attwater as Brad really got to show off their impressive pipes. The pair also showed good comic chops in a scene which sees them seduced, in turn, by the omnisexual Frank.

Tender is the night… Oliver Thornton as Frank’n’Furter with Sam Attwater as Brad. Production photography: Manuel Harlan

The biggest laughs, though, came from Philip Franks as the Narrator, who gets the bulk of the traditional heckling from Rocky regulars and returns the volleys with aplomb in his wonderfully fruity tones. Also great value are Kristian Lavercombe as falsetto fiend Riff-Raff, Abigail Jaye as Magenta and Ceris Hine as lovelorn Columbia.

There isn’t a weak performance in the piece. Where this show goes askew is the pace – never mind time warp, it rattles along at warp speed, with the first act coming in at 45 minutes and the second at around 50. There’s never time to sit back and bask in the fun, with the second half, particularly, feeling more like a concert performance than a play.

But fair’s fair, the regulars at this sold-out performance were having  a whale of a time, with devotees ranging in age from teens to sixties. With such a wide fan base, I’d not be surprised to see the Rocky Horror Show last another four decades.

Running time 2 hours
Run ends Saturday
Full details and tickets from the Edinburgh Playhouse website

The Rocky Horror Show on Tour

ENDS

Tags: Abigail Jaye, Ceris Hine, Kristian Lavercomb, Martin Gray, Musicals, Oliver Thornton, Philip Franks, Review, Rhydian Roberts, Rocky Horror Show, Roxanne Pallett, Sam Attwater