The Rocky Horror Show

New Wimbledon Theatre

Let's do the time warp again? This show has the fun factor... but the quality of the production does not quite meet the quality of most of the shows at this theatre this year...

Firstly, a huge hats off to all the performers in this show for keeping their energy levels up and performing in this theatre during this week's heat wave! The audience were all feeling the heat and they were not the ones singing and dancing under the lights in their tight costumes!

As an audience member who hasn't seen Rocky Horror on stage before, or properly/fully watched the film; it was an absolute treat to sit back and enjoy the show without distraction. This show is super fun, the audience get involved and it's very colourful... but it seems to lack the quality of other shows that have showed at Wimbledon this year. Moments felt stiff, the quality of the set was questionable and at times the acting did not always seem to match the characters. Whilst it is great to have the big-name Jason Donovan as Frank N Furter, at times it felt he did not suit the role, and he did not grab the audience as much as the huge character should.

Whilst Rocky Horror almost feels dream-like, because of how wild and crazy it is, moments felt tainted by not fully committing to the craziness of the show. The fourth wall was broken a lot throughout the piece, which created a good relationship with the audience... but it happened so much that the relationship tainted the quality of the show. Audience participation is such a great addition to the show, but when it feels like it's almost after every line... it does make you wonder whether you came to the show unprepped. The narrator is played by comedian Nathan Caton, whilst his interactions with the audience are quick, witty and hilarious, his performance as narrator seemed to lack energy at times. He does have a great voice style for the role of narrator though! In this performance the innocent couple Brad and Janet were played by Alex Hetherington and Stacey Monahan. Both carried their naive and excitable characters well. All characters felt that they could've committed to their characters more and thrown themselves into the craziness of the show. One of the best performances was by the pocket rocket Jayme-Lee Zanoncelli who played Columbia, her energy levels were out of this world and her character had an interesting development throughout the show. She shone bright in this performance.

Set design was created by Hugh Durrant. The design showed all the different settings of the show and the quality seemed to vary. A lot of thought went into the designs when the characters got inside Frank N Furter's creepy house, but the beginning designs when the couple are driving away from the church in the car look like they have been drawn and give an animated essence. Whilst the set was fun, it was very simple and it just felt like something was missing. The costume was stronger than the set and uplifted the piece, it was just as crazy as the show. Designed by Sue Blane. Frank N Furter's costumes were iconic and his entrance costume truly highlighted his huge character. He wore a shimmering cape and when he opened it underneath of course he was wearing fish net stockings and heels. One of the most iconic costumes was the usherette's baby pink adorable short costume and huge pink heels!

Whilst the show for sure was extremely fun, the quality just felt like a fan production of the Rocky Horror. The actors need to throw themselves in to the crazy a bit more and go wild, it felt as though they were holding back. However, they were performing in the insane heat. This is a short and sweet show, but the ending feels really rushed. The mix of songs at the end did get the audience going and was very uplifting. It's worth the watch if you enjoy Rocky Horror or if you haven't seen the show before, it just doesn't match the quality of all the shows that have been to Wimbledon this year. One huge thing to note was the BSL interpreter this evening was absolutely fantastic and it was an absolute treat to watch.