Rocky Horror Show – Liverpool Empire

Newly engaged preppy Brad and Janet are stranded after their car breaks down outside Dr Frank N Furter’s mansion. They are greeted with his eccentric servants doing the time warp before meeting the sweet transvestite himself. Taking place over the course of one night, they are introduced to a world of seduction and lose their innocence.

Camp, eccentric and utterly bonkers. As energetic of a night at the theatre than you’re going to get. There’s a reason it’s still a cult classic 50 years later.

A massive part of the show if you didn’t already know, is the audience involvement. Not only do the majority dress up as their favourite characters and boy do people really commit, but they sing along and shout lines at certain bits too. I’ll admit, I didn’t know these parts having only seen it once before, but it just shows how profound of a show this has on a lot of people, who have seen it time and time again.

The banter between the narrator, Jackie Clune and the audience, really had the biggest laugh out loud moments and just made it unlike any other show you’ll see at the theatre. My hats off to the cast for keeping up with the audience heckling and making sure it was far from a distraction to what they were doing on stage. Jackie Clune had some great one liners, with making the jokes relevant to today referring to Trump and Nigel Farage for example. The audience shout outs did fizz out a bit towards the end as we get lost in the story more, but the cast kept up with the high energy throughout regardless.

I barely recognised Jason Donovan clad in his fish net stocking, heels and corset. What a chaotic but entertaining Frank N Furter he was. He played him in a flamboyant, seductive and comic way and got a loud cheer from his first entrance. The bed scenes got a lot of laughs and this was mainly due to his comic timing and over the top gestures with the help of his other cast mates. My only critique is sometimes his voice was lost with the music, but that was more from a sound tech issue. It did happen with another cast member too, but with a live band visible from the back of the stage and many factors and sounds, I can forgive this as it would only be for small bits of the songs.

Lucy Aiston was a fantastic understudy for the role of Janet. Her vocals had great range when we get a different Janet at the end of the show. Her confidence as a character in her sexual liberation was evident in her strong vocals.

Jesse Chidera was understudy for the role of Riff Raff and played him in a quirky yet commanding way. His chemistry with Magenta bounced off each other, making sure to keep the upbeat energy needed for the likes of the iconic Time Warp scene and encore at the end too. Which as you can imagine had the audience up on their feet and absolutely loving it.

A special mention to Laura Bird who played both the Usherette and Magenta, her vocals were really impressive and had some strong moments throughout the show. She got laughs and cheers along the way, with Magenta being a favourite of many.

The set design by Hugh Durrant is simple but eye catching and is what you expect from such an iconic movie, without it being an exact copy of it too. The transitions were slick and helped with the likes of smoke haze, lighting and curtains. How could I not mention the costumes by Sue Blane? There’s so many iconic looks in the show and they all translate well on stage, with the eccentric and gender bending norms.

If you want your next theatre trip to ultimately be a party and a vibe, then look no further. Jason Donavon is performing at certain venues before Stephen Webb returns with the role. You can grab tickets to see Rocky Horror Show at Liverpool Empire until Saturday the 9th May before it continues its Tour at multiple venues. https://rockyhorror.co.uk/tour-dates

Reviewer: Emma Lambe

Reviewed: 4th May 2026

North West End UK Rating: