The Rocky Horror Show - Chester Storyhouse - Monday 27th February 2023

Are you ready to hear all about a Science Fiction Double Feature? Well Dammit Janet, I think it's time to the do the Time Warp! This cult phenomenon hit Chester with a bang during it's 50th anniversary tour. Did it it make me want to say Touch-a Touch-a Touch-a Touch Me?! Read on to find out!

Story

For those of you who have been living under a rock for the past 50 years and haven't heard of the Rocky Horror Show... how can I describe it to you? It's a mish mash of music, craziness, audience interaction and a whole lot of FUN!

I honestly couldn't tell you half of what happens in it as it's all just a little bit batsh*t crazy but what I will say is it's easy enough to follow and doesn't really matter in the end!

I do like a show with a good story, and this isn't one of them. But like I said, if you're coming to this show you're not wanting deep, driven stories. It's more about the cult classic music, the interaction with the cast and the fun that comes with it.

I knew this show was interactive, but I didn't quite realise how interactive it is was! I'm not usually one for audience participation but this worked SO well, it felt like a natural part of the story. There were definitely some diehard fans in tonight as they knew exactly what to say and when!

Cast

Maybe a harsh opinion.... but gimmicky shows such as this can sometimes let the gimmick do the work and the cast can sometimes not be the main focus. This was not the case tonight! From the moment Suzie McAdam (Magenta/Usherette) came on stage to start with Science Fiction Double Feature it was clear that this cast were not here to mess around. Her voice was phenomenal all the way through but especially in this first song.

Richard Meek (Brad) & Haley Flaherty (Janet) played the straight-laced, but not 100% straight (if you catch my drift!) couple who get lost on the way to visit an old friend before entering the craziness of Frank-N-Furter's castle. Both performers started off playing the characters more uptight and as the show went on they become more and more unhinged. It was great to see the change throughout the show for both of them.

Both Richard and Haley have beautiful voices and this was shown through the many songs they sing such as Dammit Janet and There's a Light Over at the Frankenstein Place.

Then we have the main event!! Stephen Webb (Frank-N-Furter) was everything that Tim Curry was in the original film! Creepy, sexy, funny, mysterious all wrapped up in one corset wearing transvestite! He kept the audience hooked all the way from beginning to end and got a very well deserved standing ovation at the end of the show, as did the rest of the cast!

Set/Lighting

I loved the over-the-top, comic book style set used throughout the show from the beginning when Janet and Brad are in their car through to the parlour room-looking furniture in the castle. It was cleverly double-sided most of the time so they could flip it round to quickly create a new scene in seconds.

There was a clever trick used with the lighting which worked well in the stalls, I don't know how well it would have worked in the circle and gallery, however. A row of lights were place at the foot of the stage and when visual quick effects were needed, these lights span round to shine on the audience in the stalls, basically creating a blinding-light for a few seconds before revealing what was happening on stage.

I thought this was a clever way to reduce blackout time/scene change time but like I said I don't know how well this would have worked higher up.

Overall

What an amazing show!! I can't believe I'd never seen this before tonight. It was a real good time and I would rush back in a heart beat!

As always, thanks to Storyhouse, Chester for the tickets tonight!

Story ⭐⭐

Cast ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Set/Lighting ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overall ⭐⭐⭐⭐