Gold Coast review: The Rocky Horror Show: bigger, bolder, and more brash than ever

By Douglas Kennedy

The Rocky Horror Show

By Richard O’Brien

Directed by Christopher Luscombe

The Star Gold Coast (Casino Level)

Phone Ticketek Accessible Seating Line on 1300 665 915. Season ends September 23.

Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show has been delighting audiences for half a century. It has, according to the program notes, been seen by more than 30 million people in more than 30 counties.

Now it returns to the Gold Coast bigger, bolder, and more brash than ever with a sparkling young cast. The show, which opened at the Star Gold Coast this weekend, is a dazzling 50th anniversary production worthy of its predecessors.

This time around the sweet transvestite alien Frank N Furter is David Bedella, while veteran Nicholas Hamond plays the more mature Narrator.

David Bedella, who is supurb in the role, has a string of credits to his name including playing Frank N Furter in London’s West End.

While Nicholas Hammond has a lifetime of credits, including appearing alongside Julie Andrews in the Rogers and Hammerstein masterpiece The Sound of Music.

(For those keen on trivia pursuit Hammond played Friedrich Von Trapp who is Captain Von Trapp’s 14-year-old son).

The two-star names are amply supported by an energetic parade of young all-singing all-dancing troupers who give the show the vitality it deserves.

For those who have been living under a rock for the past half a century, or perhaps visiting an alien world, The Rocky Horror Show is a celebration of the pop culture of 1950s.

The work doffs its hat to those B movie horror films that had audiences squirming with delight before the advent of magnificent epics such as Star Wars.

The show opens with the naïve young couple Brad and Janet (Ethan Jones and Deidre Khoo) driving home on a wet and stormy night following the wedding of good friends.

When their car has a flat tire the twosome naturally head to a spooky nearby castle where a collection of oddball characters, including the sinister butler Riff Raff (Henry Rollo), the maid Magenta (Stellar Perry) and a groupie named Columbia (Darcey Eagle) all hang out.

Throw in the hit tune The Time Warp and you almost have the whole kit and caboodle complete with a neat title.

The Rocky Horror Show doesn’t need much more explanation as at the end of the day it is simply good old-fashioned fun.

And in this day and age we need fun more than anything else.

Director Christopher Luscombe has a stellar cast who do more than justice to all the Frank N Furters, Riff Raffs, Magentas and Columbias who undoubtedly are looking down and smiling at the new generation.

So say no more let’s do the Time Warp again for old times’ sake.

Now how does it go.

Take a jump to the left and put your hands on your hips……And lets do the Time Warp again and again and again…