The Rocky Horror Show - a musical that has been touring the world since 1973 and inspired the cult classic 1975 film The Rocky Horror Picture Show – has arrived in Cardiff with a bang.
The show – which is in Cardiff’s New Theatre until Saturday, November 9 – held its opening night on Monday, November 4 with Stephen Webb in the lead role of Frank N Furter and the crowd, with many dressed up, was shivering with anticipation…
Despite being a very big fan of the film, I’d never had a chance to experience the live show until now and I was definitely not disappointed. The cast embraced the crowd participation with members of the audience shouting out various phrases relating to the show and characters. This was especially evident with the Narrator and it made Nathan Caton the stand-out star of the show for me as his quick wit came through with witty comebacks to the crowd.
It was a show full of hilarity and Webb owned the stage every time he entered with a commanding performance – and of course rocking the outfits.
Connor Carson and Lauren Chia had the awkwardness of Brad and Janet down to a tee and Job Greuter was a perfect Riff Raff.
Magenta and Columbia are my two favourite characters and Natasha Hoeberigs and Jayme-Lee Zanoncelli were both great in the respective roles, although I found the Eddie death scene reaction to be a lot more muted from Columbia but that may just be because I’m so used to the film version.
Morgan Jackson was a great Rocky and wasted no time in showing off his athletic prowess.
Natasha Hoeberigs was one of two cast members to play two roles, combining her role as Magenta with the usherette at the start and end of the show, with Edward Bullingham taking on the roles of Eddie and Dr Scott. I did feel like his voice was lacking the power I’m used to with Meatloaf in the role of Eddie – but he really gave it a good go and I still enjoyed his performance.
The set design was cleverly done – with the cast and the Phantoms expertly helping to change the scenes throughout.
Unfortunately for those without tickets, the week-long stint of Rocky Horror Show is sold out but for those who nabbed tickets, you will have a fantastic night to remember.
Stephen Webb played Frank N Furter on Monday and will be on Tuesday, November 5, with Jason Donovan taking on the role from Wednesday, November 6 through to Saturday, November 9.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here