REVIEW: The Rocky Horror Show at The New Theatre
The Rocky Horror Show is back in Cardiff this week, and we were lucky enough to go to last night's sold-out opening (Monday 4 November).
Most people have heard of The Rocky Horror Show, so I won’t go into too much detail about the plot. Brad (played by Connor Carson) and his fiancée Janet (Lauren Chia) set out on a stormy night to visit an old college professor.
However they get a flat tyre and head to a nearby castle in search of a phone, but encounter everything but that. Their night gets stranger and madder the longer it goes on, once they enter Dr Frank N Furter’s (Stephen Webb) life.
The cast also includes Nathan Caton as the Narrator, Edward Bullingham as Eddie and Dr Scott, Job Greuter as Riff Raff, Natasha Hoeberigs as Magenta and Usherette, Morgan Jackson as Rockey and Jayme-Lee Zanongelli as Columbia.
Last night and tonight (Tuesday 5th), Frank N Furter is played by Stephen Webb, and he was incredible. The confidence he showed was admirable, and the way he portrayed the character was brilliant, from the walk to the dramatic entrances. The rest of the shows will be performed by Jason Donovan, who I can imagine will be equally as impressive.
When asked about the role, Donovan said “When I put on those high heels, I become that rock ‘n’ roll star. It makes me feel powerful, tall, in charge. And audiences love it. As I look out from the stage, I see a beautiful landscape of people wearing outrageous costumes”
And that is so true. As soon as we arrived at the theatre we saw all the different characters amongst the audience members - everyone looked fantastic! And the audience participation didn’t stop there. Everyone in the audience were shouting out lines to the cast (mainly the narrator), who would join in the fun and give quick-witted answers back.
This has to be one of the funniest, craziest, and best shows I’ve seen. The costumes were amazing and colourful. The set design was simple but perfect - I think due to the chaos of the show, the sets were right to be a bit calmer to keep attention on the story. There were still little surprises throughout the sets to keep an eye out for though.
One of my favourite aspects of the show was the lighting. I noticed two disco balls high up on either side of the stage, and they really amplified the scenes, and added to the performance characters such as Dr Frank N Furter were displaying.
I couldn’t recommend this production enough. It’s bonkers, but brilliant. I overheard one of the stewards telling a couple before the show that the night was going to get madder, and he was right. From start to finish it was just fun, funny, and fabulous. This is an adult-content heavy production, so please keep that in mind, but just enjoy it - we certainly did!
The Rocky Horror Show is in Cardiff until Saturday (9 November), so make sure to get your ticket for this hilarious and unmissable performance. Tickets are available by ringing 0343 310 0041 or by clicking here.
Review by Sophie Platt
Photos by David Freeman
We received free tickets for this performance in exchange for an honest review.
Comments