The Rocky Horror Show – Liverpool Playhouse

The Cult classic is back in Liverpool this Christmas! Having previously filled the Liverpool Empire on multiple occasions, it was strange to head into a smaller venue to see this production. However, it made the evening and the atmosphere a lot more intimate and not as many people joined in with the shout-outs, but they could mostly still be heard around the theatre.

The Rocky Horror Show, which was later turned into a film (The Rocky Horror Picture Show) tells the story of a young couple – Brad and Janet, who’s car breaks down on their way home from a friends’ wedding, shortly after getting engaged themselves. Helped sometimes by the audience, Brad remembers that they passed a castle a couple of miles down the road and head off towards it, as a storm starts. From there the night takes a turn and they meet Frank’N’Furter and his companions, Riff Raff, Magenta and Columbia. The young in-love couple will never be the same again. The musical features all of the favorite songs, ‘The Time Warp’, ‘Damnit Janet’, ‘I’m Going Home’ and many more, you are definitely in for a fun night with the visitors from the planet Transylvania, in the galaxy of Transsexual.

Whilst some references do seem a little outdated in this day and age, the show still proves to be a hit with fans and audiences.

Connor Carson and Lauren Chia play Brad Majors and Janet Weiss and at first, they come across as the perfectly in-love sweethearts, but as the show goes on and the characters grow in confidence, we see the range that these two actors can produce, and it is truly wonderful to witness. Supported by Job Greuter’s Riff Raff, Natasha Hoeberigs’ Magenta/Usherette, Jayme-Lee Zanoncelli’s Columbia, Morgan Jackson’s Rocky and Edward Bullingham as Eddie/Dr Scott, there is not a weak link at all in these cast members and every moment spent watching them, is a moment you are grinning from ear-to-ear.

Of course, anyone who has heard that the show has returned to Liverpool for the Christmas season knows that the lead role of Frank’N’Furter is currently being portrayed by Jason Donovan. I will admit that I was weary when I heard about this casting and there were moments when he was singing that it felt difficult to understand some of the words he was singing, and he didn’t seem to be doing as much choreography as previous Frank’s. However, the audience were loving every moment he was on stage and some of the best moments were when he slipped out of character and corpsed, as it was natural, and his quick recoveries were great.

Veteran Liverpool DJ Pete Price was the narrator and whilst he had a number of quick retorts up his sleeve for all of the heckles he received, some went on a bit too long and when he was sticking to the script, he felt like he was reading it from the book he was holding, as he was looking at that more than he was looking and engaging with the audience. Whether it was through choice or was more comforting for him, I don’t know, but it was distracting at times, yet didn’t take too much away from the enjoyment of the evening.

It is definitely worth a visit this festive season, but if you want to see Jason and Pete, they finish on 7^th December, then their roles will be taken over by Stephen Webb as Frank’N’Furter and Leanne Campbell as Narrator!

Make sure you time warp your way to a ticket from www.everymanplayhouse.com/whats-on/the-rocky-horror-show before 4th January 2025

Reviewer: Jenn McKean

Reviewed: 4^th December 2024

North West End UK Rating: