Rocky Horror Picture Show — Review

I want to preface this review by saying that this was not my first time seeing The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Byre Theatre. To spell it out for knowledgeable fans, my days of being branded with the red ‘V’ are long behind me. So when the opportunity arose for me to offer my two cents on this year’s Rocky rendition, I decided to give myself over to absolute pleasure. 

Before the performance began, the production’s publicity team — consisting of Jazmin Graham and Tash McQuire — got the audience’s adrenaline rushing with a couple pre-show rituals. The winner of ‘Best Dressed’ was, of course, a fan who dressed like Dr Frank-N-Furter (complete with the dagger-heart ‘boss’ tattoo). My favourite moment, however, was when three ‘virgins’ (or, those who had not yet attended a performance of Rocky) were asked to come on stage and moan according to their assignment to a specific character. Steve — who was assigned Frank-N-Furter — won; he said he was attending the show with his son. 

For those of you like Steve who have yet to lose your Rocky virginity, the corset-clad, fish-netted viewing experience earns its enthusiasm largely due to its audience. Each show relies heavily on shouted one-liners, the brandishing of newspapers (not The Saint, I’m afraid), and dancing to add to its overall quality of performance. While I will admit to giving the film a five-star rating on Letterbox, fans know that going to actually watch a performance of Rocky is a lot different than simply viewing the movie from the comfort of your own home.

On that note, the cast certainly pulled through. Their close-knit bonds — no doubt fortified from weeks of rehearsals — were obvious to the audience. The ensemble worked in tandem like a well-oiled machine, adding comedic value and visual synchronicity. The star of the show — Frank-N-Furter himself — no doubt seized hold of Rebeca Ravara for the duration of her performance. Ravara flirted with the audience in the spirit of Tim Curry’s sweet transvestite, and by the end of the performance, any one of us would have gladly joined her for a disorienting visit over at the Frankenstein place. So too fantastical was Calia Reilly as Columbia, whose dancing skills paralleled that of Little Nell herself. The duo that is Riff-Raff and Magenta — played by Lucile Belorgey and Lewis Fitez, respectively — looked shockingly similar with their pale skin and burgundy hair, which only made their incestuous relationship that much creepier. 

Additionally, this particular performance excelled tech-wise. The lights were vibrant, intense, and completely on-par with the show’s eccentricity. For the opening wedding scene, the light fixtures impressively cast down shadows of church windows. The ‘Time Warp’ made the stage glow pink and red complete with a disco ball. Though as dazzling as the lights were, they did, at times, obscure the film’s screening in the background. Additionally, lines to be shouted by the audience were projected on either side of the stage which — as well intended as they were — ended up causing a commotion of uncoordinated and often prolonged shouts from the audience that drowned out lines of dialogue. Though Rocky performances on the whole are hardly intended to be serene and respectful. 

If you’re looking to get the full pelvic-thrusting, explicative-yelling experience, try to avoid matinee shows. Maybe it was because it was the Saturday after Halloween, or the fact that it was 4pm — maybe there was an abnormally high number of ‘virgins’ attending the show — but audience participation was not up to par. Of course this is a review of the show itself, but let this serve as a PSA to all those reading this review: if you’re going to a Rocky performance, put your back into it. As dazzling as the crew was, being an audience member of this particular show demands a bit more from you than spectatorship. 

Overall, this year’s rendition of Rocky certainly did not disappoint. Seeing as I’ve attended the last two Rocky performances since first year, it’s true what they say — the third time certainly is a charm. All in all, I still left the theatre on Saturday night very much so “a regular Frankie fan.” 

Photos by Helena Rothery