Rocky Horror Show – Sheffield Lyceum Theatre

Music, Lyrics and Book: Richard O’Brian

Director: Christopher Luscombe

Reviewer: Audrey Pointer

The Public Reviews Rating:

Richard O’Brian’s famous musical has been around since 1973 and is regularly performed in the UK and abroad. The show launched Tim Curry’s career and he was the natural choice to play Dr. Frank ‘N’ Furter in the 1975 film version. The Rocky Horror Show comically explores notions of gender blurring with outrageous outfits in evidence on and off stage.

Straight-laced sweethearts Brad and Janet get a flat tyre which leads to a stop at Frank ‘N’ Furter’s castle and a transsexual rock ‘n’ roll adventure they’ll never forget. The show spoofs many things, from B-movies to Frankenstein. As with Shakespeare and Pantomine, the plot and script are so familiar to the fans that they come prepared to eagerly join in with witty heckles, torch-waving and time-warping. Fabulous show-stopping songs bind the action together, carrying it along at breakneck speed.

Director Christopher Luscombe has created an authoritative version of this classic. Costumes are designed by award winner Sue Blane MBE who created the originals in stage and film. Janet Bird’s flexible set is visually exciting, offering scope for a variety of theatrical effects. It works well with the atmospheric lighting of Nick Richings.

David Bedella’s superb performance unsurprisingly owes a little to Tim Curry but he shines as Frank ‘N’ Furter, finding fresh nuances and new bits of business to make the character his own. Brian McCann’s Riff-Raff is likewise reminiscent of O’Brien himself but this only adds to the feeling of familiarity. Special credit must be given to the impeccable detail that the Phantoms (Stuart Ellis, Marc Leslie, Charlotte Scott, Henry Davis and Daniela Valvano) brought to the song and dance numbers which added to the overall spectacle.

The band of Steve Hill, Dave Webb, Steve Willingham, Ron Humphrey and Paul Matthews provided a tight accompaniment to note perfect vocals from the entire company. The voice of Haley Flaherty (Janet) soared operatically on more than one occasion, whilst Richard Meek as Brad revealed a melodic timbre in quieter numbers.

It was also a treat to welcome our very own Mark Curry to this Sheffield gig as a naughty but nice Narrator who lapped up the fun (even the ‘sticky back plastic’ heckle) in a good-humoured manner.

When the audience are cheering loudly before the show begins, it’s a safe bet that you are in for an entertaining night. And we were not disappointed, with the audience soon on its feet doing the Time Warp and enthusiastically whooping and applauding till its reprise after a resounding standing-ovation finale. This is more than just a night at the theatre. It is a must-see fun-filled event that will put a smile on your face that’ll make it ache!