Simon Hale gets caught up in the latest production of the Rocky Horror Show.
Home-grown This Morning presenter Alison Hammond is among a stellar cast in a rollicking production of Rocky Horror Show at Birmingham’s Alexandra Theatre.
Making her debut as the Narrator in the raunchy cult musical, the bubbly Brummie gives the receptive wise-cracking audience exactly what it wants – and that includes loads of innuendo.
With as much cross-dressing in the stalls as on the stage, lines are shouted out before the cast in a show so camp, sexy and outrageous that it makes Kinky Boots look like a children’s programme.
The opening night audience seemed to be dominated by Rocky Horror regulars. They knew all the song lyrics and exactly how to dance them, especially the biggest number The Time Warp. Rising to other memorable songs, including Sweet Transvestite and Dammit Janet, accompanied by an excellent live band, the production of just under two hours seemed like one continuous party.
As for the story itself, Richard O’Brien’s 46-year-old B-movie-inspired cult show uses the classic device of putting normal people into an abnormal environment and seeing how they react. In this case, the prim young Brad (Ben Adams from A1), and his naive fiancée Janet (Strictly Come Dancing champion Joanne Clifton) find themselves knocking at a castle door after their car has broken down.
Stepping inside they meet alien transvestite Dr Frank N Furter (Blue singer Duncan James) and his equally fabulous servants and witness the creation of the perfectly contoured monster Rocky (Callum Evans).
The plot may get lost and the rock and roll routines fail to match the spectacular costumes, but this is nonetheless an hilarious personality packed show with a brilliant cast. If you’re open minded and fancy a fun night out, this is a show you shouldn’t miss.
Rocky Horror Show is in performance until Saturday, May 25th (Tickets & Information 0844 871 3011 atgtickets.com/birmingham)