REVIEW: ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- We Talk Theatre
- Apr 5, 2024
- 3 min read
Review from - April 3rd, 2024 (Gala Opening Night)
Dylan Alcott, Jason Donavon & the cast of THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW
Photo by Wendell Teodoro
There’s a certain comfort in the ubiquitous, in the perfect close-ended structure of THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW, with the recognisable characters and a score without a single skip track taking us from a broken-down car all the way to the inevitable, inexplicable floor show, where the character arcs peak as naturally as they possibly can in Richard O’Brien’s masterpiece.
Fresh off its highly successful Newcastle season, where I saw it twice, and its other stops across the country, the fiftieth anniversary revamp of THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW has circled back to the Theatre Royal in Sydney, where I also saw it twice last year.
You’d think it’d get old, but, per my introduction and even with more or less the same cast as before, THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW, and especially this easily accessible production, is a slot machine I am all too happy to play whenever the opportunity arises.
Deirdre Khoo as Janet & Blake Bowden as Brad
Photo by Daniel Boud
Blake Bowden and Deirdre Khoo lead as America’s sweethearts Brad and Janet. Bowden particularly brings the right secret sauce to Brad, that 50s stoic veneer with enough hints of fruity for Frank to exploit; Khoo, meanwhile, brings belt where Susan Sarandon merely channeled Chipette vocally.
Naturally, it’s the Halloween monsters that bring the most charm to the show, with Stellar Perry’s Usherette offering Jessie J-curious riffs in the bookending renditions of “Science Fiction Double Feature”, and Henry Rollo’s Riff Raff clocking on at the tenor factory with silky, stratospheric notes in “Over at the Frankenstein Place”.
And, of course, we have Jason Donovan’s Frank-N-Furter, a signature role he first stepped into in 1998, deliciously flirty and always making a strong, strong choice, whether that be flicking his tongue to the growing delight of Janet, or spending the second act looking into the wings as the character’s anxieties about his position on Earth grow and fester.
It’s a delicate balance and objective challenge to distill the human qualities in Frank with the larger-than-life persona he projects to his guests (or victims?), but Donovan carries it right until the end with “I’m Going Home”, which, yes, brought me to tears (“Someone was moved!” opined my companion Lachlan as we walked back to the bar to retrieve my glasses afterwards).
Jason Donovan as Frank-N-Furter
Photo by Daniel Boud
As the Narrator, Paralympic gold medallist Dylan Alcott brings a fresh cross-industry charm to his work, and, while comparison does not a good review make, it must be noted that the choices to re-block entire scenes (“Eddie’s Teddy”, namely) to ensure he is seen and foregrounded was commendable and, more importantly, dynamic theatre.
The production’s greatest strength is also its greatest downfall, whereby the design knows what we’re all here to see – “The Time Warp”, “Sweet Transvestite”, the floor show medley – and has strobes flashing and greater care taken accordingly. However, we come to songs such as “Once in a While” (cut from the movie) and even “The Sword of Damocles”, where the brief was just “stand there and sell it” or “Jason Donovan chases his hunky creation around all funny-like”. The talent of the performers involved brings it over the line, but any lesser passion for the piece from the audience by these points in the show would kneecap it considerably.
All in all, the fiftieth anniversary production of THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW is exactly what we need out of it and more – juiced-up rock orchestrations, campy acting to support the pantomime that a classic text inevitably becomes, and the collective laughter at good audience participation prompts as well as at bad ones that are barely choked out by a less adept theatregoer trying their best.
The Cast of THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW performing The Time Warp
Photo by Daniel Boud
Want tickets? Don’t dream it – be it! THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW is running at Theatre Royal in Sydney until 5 May 2024. Dylan Alcott plays the Narrator until 17 April 2024, with Pete Helliar taking over until the end of the season.
Tickets start at just $49, available from www.rockyhorror.com.au.
Review by Jack Madden
Produced by We Talk Theatre
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