Rocky Review

Rip It Up, Issue 15, 1 September 1978, Page 16

Rocky Review

Bruce Belsham

Rocky Horror Show His Majesty's Theatre A mere five years after it was the darling of London and New York, The Rocky Horror Show has made it. His Majesty's Theatre on a cold windy August night. The show opens with a histrionic shriek and a very strange’ usherette with fake icecreams singing about the late night picture show. Odd? Well it might have been a few years back when camp humour was the next thing. But now it’s the day before yesterday’s thing and we have to settle for pleasantly amusing.

Thus it trots along. Nice American couple sing about love and marriage. Drive off to visit friendly high school teacher, have a blow out. Knock on door of ordinary gothic castle. Neither Janet (Jenni Anderson) or Brad (John Collingwood-Smith) have great rock and roll voices but they carry the story adequately. Nice American couple are invited in by hunchback butler, caught in the evil domain of nefarious Count Frankenfurter. But oh ho, some real decadence at last. Gary Glitter. Er-

stwhile glam rocker going a shade seedy, bursting out of his corset and reduced to touring the provinces with a stage burlesque. Glitter, a real rock and roll singer with some oomph and more than real performing personality lifts the show. He camps it outrageously, pumps his arm up and down in accepted Glitter style. This man has class. So, with a genuine degenerate to marvel at, the story, familiar to those who saw The Rocky Horror Picture Show , develops. Frankenfurter creates an Adonis from the dead, deflowers Janet, deflowers Brad, seduces them to decadence. High school teacher alias FBI agent arrives, warns the Count, performs wheelchair acrobatics.

Throughout the music is competently handled by musical director Dave Fraser. The sound effects from the synthesiser are nicely managed. However, with few exceptions ("Dammit Janet", "Do the Time Warp”), the songs have little to distinguish them. Arrangements tend to be flat. Backup singers are useful, but only Columbia (Zero of Suburban Reptile fame) attacks with real gusto. Doesn’t matter that she's no nightingale. Goodies win in the end. Naturally. Glitter’s excesses in the death scene do him proud. You know, it was nice they left it for us till Gary could make it.