The Rocky Horror Show – Newcastle Theatre Royal
27th January 2025
Invited| Review by Stephen Stokoe
There are a few shows I do not take any encouragement to go and see, and to be invited to one of them to review it at the Newcastle Theatre Royal was like a dream come true. Even before we got to the theatre doors the air was filled with joyous expectation and, let’s say, the people milling around started to get more and more colourful. There were Basques, feather boas, hats and more make up than the Maybelline factory.

There is something very special about going to a production of The Rocky Horror Show. The audience gets into the spirit and there is a sense that everyone is going to have a great night. This proved the case this evening. For those who do not know the plot, such as it is, Brad Majors (Connor Carson) and his, then girlfriend Janet Weiss (Lauren Chia) have been to a wedding prompting the straight laced Majors to propose on their way to a meeting with one of Brad’s erstwhile professors. They breakdown and seek assistance at the foreboding and gothic home of one Frank ‘N’ Furter (Jason Donovan) ostensibly to use his telephone. Little do they know what is in store for them.

I have seen The Rocky Horror Show more times than I care to remember and probably fewer times than I have seen the movie and I pretty much know the script and the score back to front. As the audience arrives they are greeted by an usherette of an old fashioned movie house who introduces the show leading into the main action. Natasha Hoeberigs was appropriately ditzy and excitable in the role and was greeted onto the stage with whoops and cheers from the equally excitable audience. It is fair to point out that if you are looking for theatre etiquette and well behaved patrons then The Rocky Horror Show is not for you. The audience sings along, heckles and gets downright dirty in places which all adds to an experience which is interactive and thoroughly enjoyable.

The set (Hugh Durrant) is cleverly used with a film show reel adorning the performance area and it works very well indeed. The lighting design by Nick Richings is cleverly considered and provides as much atmospherics as it does garish disco and bells and whistles for the more upbeat numbers in the musical. There were lots of people involved with the music this evening including Richard Hartley, Simon Beck, Greg Arrowsmith and there were some very interesting arrangements of Richard O’Brien’s original music all of which worked very well indeed.
This evening the band, rocking their way from the top of the set was a fantastic band led by musical director Josh Sood. The sound (Gareth Owen) is outstanding and all are worthy of a mention.
As I mentioned I have seen this show many times before and this was my second time with Neighbours alumni Jason Donovan in the lead role of Frank ‘n’ Furter. I have to say that this was a very different sweet transvetite from Transylvania than I saw the last time but different is not inferior. He obvious loves this role having returned to it time and time again. His Frank ‘n’ Furter this evening was equally as lascivious as his younger version but probably a little more manic and perhaps, dare I suggest, more Dr Frankenstein than sex crazed alien from beyond. I thought it worked very well indeed and Donovan was living his best life on that stage as he always does whenever I have seen this natural showman perform.

You cannot talk about The Rocky Horror Show without considering the performance of the actor playing Riff Riff, the part written by and for, creator Richard O’Brien. I think the best compliment that I can pay Job Greutor who took on this challenging role this evening was, at times, pretty much like watching O’Brien but he also made the part his own and I doff my cap to him.
Frank ‘n’ Furter’s pet project is to make a man, with blonde hair and a tan. This role has to be played by someone who looks the part physically. I am often disappointed that this particular character is there to be seen rather than to perform. Not so this evening, Morgan Jackson struts around that stage every bit the strapping muscle boy is is meant to be but he also adds a great deal of charm and a twinkle in his eye which is as adorable as it is, necessarily sexy.

Another character who holds the thing together is The Narrator and this was played this evening to absolute perfection by Nathan Caton who was probably the naughtiest and baudiest narrator I have ever see. The audience lapped up his innuendos and he hit the mark every time he walked onto the stage.
The choreography (Nathan M Wright) is particularly impressive in this production, something that has been lacking in previous versions I have seen. It is a great night out offering theatre for adults who like a night of smut, nonsense and nostalgia for horror b-movies of the past.
The Rocky Horror Show plays Newcastle Theatre Royal (Mon 27 Jan – Sat 1 Feb 2025). Tickets can be purchased at www.theatreroyal.co.uk or from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 0191 232 7010.