Richard O’Brien’s cult musical phenomenon, The Rocky Horror Show is fast approaching its 50th anniversary in 2023 and stops off at Swindon’s Wyvern Theatre this week as part of its 2022 World Tour.
A cold miserable Monday in March didn’t deter Swindonian’s from dressing up in their best basques, suspenders and fishnets to take in the opening night of the show recently described by writer Richard O’Brien as an “alternative pantomime” and as the opening number Science Fiction/Double Feature kicked off proceedings, everyone forgot about the cold outside with the energy in the auditorium almost palpable.
If you have not seen the show (or film) in its near fifty year existence, the story revolves around a recently engaged couple, Brad (Strictly Come Dancing winner Ore Oduba) and Janet (Haley Flaherty), who head off on a wet windy evening to visit their good friend Dr Everett V Scott.
En route they find themselves with a flat tyre, unable to complete the journey they find themselves seeking assistance at a nearby castle, home to transvestite scientist Frank n Furter (Stephen Webb).
Once inside, they discover a raucous party of strange individuals and are then invited to the lab to witness the birth of Frank’s Frankenstein-like creation Rocky (Ben Westhead) with a god like muscle-toned body, albeit in leopard skin pants and not the expected sparkly golden shorts, before spending the night, an eventful night!
From the start narrator Philip Franks (The Darling Buds of May, Heartbeat) was outstanding, he had perfect comic timing playing with the heckles of Rocky regulars in the audience expertly, as well as delivering a few lines of his own leaving the audience in hysterics.
The audience participation, which must seem weird if this is your first time seeing the show, seems to have expanded into new scenes since I last saw the show but is played along perfectly with the cast.
The musical set-pieces, arranged by Richard Hartley are outstanding throughout and the scenery, seamlessly transitioning between remote country roads to a baroque castle interior, and later into a science lab was just perfect for the size of the Wyvern stage.
All of the cast deserve to be credited for their faultless performances however Oduba and Flaherty were amazing vocally as the sweet, naive couple, but my standout goes to Philip Franks as the Narrator. He had me, and the majority of the audience, along for the ride right from the off!
The show was F*****G AMAZING!
My final words have to go to the team at the Wyvern, not normal for a show review I know, BUT, if it were not for their hard work, Swindon audiences would not get to see the likes of Rocky (I may be wrong but think this is the first time it has come to the town) and later in the year SIX, OUTSTANDING WORK!!
The Rocky Horror Show plays at Swindon’s Wyvern Theatre until Saturday 12th March, before continuing its UK tour throughout 2022. Tickets are available here.
