Created by Richard O’Brien

Directed by Christopher Luscombe

Review by Marina Funcasta

Tickets from £23.00

Having seen a variety of musicals at the Playhouse, the usual business swamped the stalls to the sound of the five-minute warning. This time, however, as I made my way into the stalls, I circumvented bobbing bedazzled top hats and ushers delivering boxes of popcorn, which, in retrospect, should have prepared me for the audience-driven effervescence that was to follow.

The show, or should I say spectacle, was impressive. In the gradual pealing of the set, from the ruched red curtain to the caricatured 50s Volkswagen, to Frank’n’furter’s not-so-humble abode, each space was delineated with detail. Hugh Durant works alongside Sue Blane and Nick Richings to create an impressive myriad of striking camp outfits and performances which would tempt even the cleanest conformists, newly-engaged couple Janet and Brad. Played with puppet-like humour by Connor Carson and Lauren Chia, Chia’s vocal potency wins her a stand-out performance as Janet, demonstrated and retained from early renditions ‘Over at the Frankenstein Place’ to the second Act’s iconic ‘Touch-A, Touch-A, Touch me’. Moving through the age-old arc of innocence to experience, Chia charts Janet’s descent into the sexually charged world of Dr Frank-n-Furter with patience, acquiescence, and ultimate release.

Another refreshing performance can be credited to our narrator, played with smooth charisma by Nathan Caton. A comedic actor by trade, Caton’s witty, seemingly off-the-cuff remarks rooted this crazy musical in some British locality. Although probably much more effective in a London crowd, Scottish audiences were still able to engage with the production, as shown by the blaring accents from the upper circle. To be sure, with this production, the rowdier, the better, and Caton dealt with this with a welcoming and stabilising enthusiasm. Navigating us through the story, I felt like we were in safe hands.

This being said, some moments did leave me wanting. Try as it may, something drew the production back: Jason Donovan, the much-anticipated Doctor Frank-n-Furter, was disappointed in his demeanour. Hypnotic in his naturally commanding suaveness, this decadent sophistication at times fell into tiredness, losing the vitality and awe-inspiring brilliance which our Doctor is meant to exhibit. The heart of the production, lacking this brilliance, meant that most of the numbers fell flat.

Even so, the ensemble pulled back the energy with numbers like ’Time Warp’, and ‘Fanfare/Don’t dream it’. This is notable, particularly in the character of Magenta, played with utmost vitality by Natasha Hoeberigs; stretching an almost saccharine sweetness in her performance as an usherette, her switch to the ominously bewitching Magenta is seamless and, if anything, rather haunting. The same goes for Jayme-Lee Zanoncelli’s nymph-like Columbia, poignant in her camp Eponine-like role as an unrequited groupie.

Overall, as someone who had never seen the cult classic, I have much to thank this production for. The musical itself is brimming with character, and experiencing the live audience reactions and sheer expanse of character both on stage and off reiterates the power of queer theatre. Enacting these themes and personalities is immensely powerful, both in terms of the abounding celebratory nature of the space this play creates and in terms of the demographics it brings together.

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