It’s Astounding!

Cult hit The Rocky Horror Show bursts onto the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre stage this week clad in corsets, fishnets and feather boas. Naomi MacKay joined the audience in doing the Time Warp again – and you can too – until Saturday 8 July.

Anyone born in the 60s or 70s and who first encountered The Rocky Horror Picture Show in their student days – look away now or you’ll feel old! Richard O’Brien’s cult hit is now celebrating its 50th anniversary!

And the wonderful thing about it is that unlike many of its early fans, it’s not showing its age. Where other long-running shows might be showing some signs of wear and tear (and lacking the ability to survive in the 21st century), The Rocky Horror Show proves that it can continue to thrill audiences, even in its sixth decade.

It was heartening to see that even on a Monday night, the people of Aylesbury and surrounds can get their Rocky on – with hardcore fans taking over the front rows – and plenty of theatregoers who had come home from work and got glammed up with fishnets, boas, corsets and of course Red lipstick, to take part in one of theatre’s most immersive shows.

Very briefly the story follows newly-engaged, all-American couple Brad and Janet, who happen upon Frank n Furter’s castle when they get a flat tyre. They find themselves in a strange new place, where their host, transvestite Frank n Furter introduces them to a decadent new world, which will change their lives forever.

While Frank n Furter is the show’s most over-the-top character – played by the fabulous Tim Curry in the original movie – the part of the narrator is arguably one of the most important roles in the live show, attracting the most heckles and retorts from the crowd (this is one show which actually thrives on the audience becoming part of the action!). And the wonderful Phillip Franks (probably best recognised for playing Catherine Zeta Jones’s love interest Charlie in the original TV series darling Buds of May) gave as good as he got with much humour, wry smiles and just a little hint of camp!

Back to Frank n Furter – it was a shame that Stephen Webber was missing on press night, but his understudy Richard Meek stepped into his platform sandals admirably. 

Riff Raff, meanwhile, was played by Richard O’Brien himself in the movie, but the wonderful Kristian Lavercombe has made it his own, bringing just a little extra to the role (unsurprising as he has played it more than 2,000 times!)

The rest of the cast look like they are having an enormous amount of fun – and that transferred into the audience – who gladly jumped out of their seats to jump to the left and step to the right in the Time Warp. Darcy Finden as Columbia made the most of her two major scenes – her tap dance routine in the Time Warp – and during the last part of the show when she is under the influence of Riff Raff’s laughing gas.

The Rocky Horror Show is not for the easily offended – it’s sexy and naughty and irreverent – but for anyone else it’s a night to remember. In fact my friend (until Monday a Rocky virgin) said it was the best thing she’d seen at the theatre, and we both headed to the car park trying to work out our schedules so we could go back before the show ends its run at Aylesbury on Saturday.

There can be no better recommendation.

Tickets are available at: www.atgtickets.com/aylesbury (bkg fee) or call 0844 871 7615 (Fees apply. Calls cost up to 7p per min plus your phone company’s access charge).

Pictured L-R: Darcy Finden as Columbia, Suzie McAdam as Magenta, Haley Flaherty as Janet, Richard Meek as Brad,  Kristian Lavercombe as Riff Raff,