Since its debut back in 1975, ‘Rocky Horror Show’ has attracted a half century of gender-bending and generation-blending faithful audiences around the globe. Last night it returned to Birmingham’s Alexandra Theatre for the second time on its 2025/6 tour.
On a scorchingly hot night and feeling jaded after staying up till nearly 5am cheering England, I joined an audience dressed in a glorious gathering of basques, stockings, suspenders, operating gowns, space suits, sparkly hats and many more representations of what the cast would be wearing on-stage. They were here not just to see the show but to party and worship at the holy grail of Richard O’Brien’s legendary rock ‘n’ roll musical pot of gold.
Lights up and the fabulous band under the musical direction of Adam Smith kick off to a mighty roar from the audience. Laura Bird enters as the Usherette and stands silhouetted against a stunning festooned shimmering oyster satin cinema curtain. She sings as sexily as she looks – then deftly pulls back the exotic tab to reveal the whacky circular set by Designer Hugh Durrant. This is the first of many movie style transitions to seamlessly showcase the mayhem, mirth and madness.
Brad and Janet, (confident goody-goody opening performances from James Bisp and Haley Flaherty) are driving in their car with a tyre that is about to go bang and leave them broken down outside a gothic mansion.
Enter legendary actress and comedienne Jackie Clune as the Narrator. Clune is everything a good host should be – engaging, sharp-witted and nicely naughty – she can bat the banter like a baseball champ. Good thing too, because for every line she reads – or Brad and Janet say – wags in the audience shout out a quip, a question or deliver it before or with them.
Brad and Janet seek help at the house – all they want is to make a phone call – but what they get is seduction and sex education with (literally) knobs on! That’s all the plot you need to know, if you don’t already know it and I suspect most of you reading this already do!
The whole Company are high octane – giving both stunning individual and inclusive performances. Ryan Carter-Wilson makes a suitably dodgy/pervy old retainer Riff Raff. Laura Bird doubles as the usherette and the voluptuous vampiric beauty Magenta, Daisy Steere plays dazzling alien Columbia. Morgan Jackson catapults, somersaults and generally does things with his body that should not be possible and still manages to sing and act superbly as Rocky, the Frankenstein creation. Edward Bullingham does a convincing double as sultry rock star Eddie and wheelchair bound Dr Scott. Nathan Zach Johnson, Tyla Dee Nurden and Bethany Amber Perkins as the Phantoms complete the talented new and returning company
That is of course except for Stephen Webb as the gothic rock god – Frank N Furter, our naughty master/mistress of ceremonies. He did particularly well when a power outage (probably due to the heat) stopped the performance for nearly 30 minutes. Webb returned determinedly strutting, teasing and breathing new life into the anarchy when the lights came back on.
Christopher Luscombe directs RHS with skill and passion whilst Nathan M Wright’s choreography is rude and raunchy. Nick Richings’ lighting design is iconically rock ‘n’ roll.
The congregation – sorry, audience – participated profusely yet remained respectful when required so full marks to them too. Cast and musicians (stunning guitar riffs from Luke Beirne) were triumphantly joined at the hip.
Despite the lure of footy and the sloth-inducing heatwave, go and enjoy. Put on the suspenders and ‘Do the Time Warp Again’ – roll up for the silliest wackiest, naughtiest, sexiest night out you’ll get in Birmingham town this week.
The Rocky Horror Show runs until Saturday, July 11, at Birmingham’s Alexandra Theatre. Click here for times, tickets and more information.
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