Wow, just on my way home from this. What a fun show!
The whole cast are amazing, especially with such an energetic show. Not a weak link amongst them, all are great singers and have the chops for comedy.
The eighties references are plentiful, even during the interval there was a fabulous playlist of kids TV themes blasting out. Lots of musical theatre references too, I don’t want to give anything away here.
The audience were really into it, I spoke to a few who had been several times already - they said it’s got more of a set than the original run had.
The songs are much better than I was expecting for a parody show, I absolutely loved it.
Playing until Saturday before it goes on tour. Recommended!
Never seen this so am very tempted, but I dislike outdoor theatre at the best of times. Must put such a dampener on it (literally and figuratively.)
If youv'e never been to Regents Park Open Air Theatre before it has the most marvellous atmosphere - on a good night - especially if you go for an evening performance when the show starts at twilight and as the sun sets the surrounding trees start to light up.Get to the theatre early as the fairy lit bar/cafe is also charming.
I agree, it's one of the most wonderful venues on a good night.
The only thing I don't like is around 15 minutes after the interval, just as I've re-immersed myself in the magic of the show, being suddenly scared witless by the massive crash of bottles being emptied into the recycling bins!
"Is it a real Groundhog"? Followed by "If they use real children at Matilda it should be a real Groundhog". Said several times to several people by a grown woman.
The cast of Lion King are trembling with fear of her reasoning…!
James - I’m starting to think I may have met you on the night! Are you the lovely person I met when we were both trying to find our drinks at the interval, you had a white wine and I had a beer, we were both struggling to read the drink tickets? I was dressed as Brad in lab coat and y-fronts. If so, it was lovely to chat with you!
Yes that was me - it’s a small world ! Enjoyed meeting you too
Fantastic! You looked very glamorous, and it was lovely to chat. When worlds collide - Rocky Horror and TheatreBoard!
I made it to the Gala Performance and after show party too - even splashed out on a new gold frock for the occasion.
If Ian remember how I’ll upload a photo
James - I’m starting to think I may have met you on the night! Are you the lovely person I met when we were both trying to find our drinks at the interval, you had a white wine and I had a beer, we were both struggling to read the drink tickets? I was dressed as Brad in lab coat and y-fronts. If so, it was lovely to chat with you!
There are some fabulous photos and videos of the evening on Richard Meek's twitter account: Link
Specifically this video which shows the moment original and current cast members shared the stage together:
That confirms my suspicion that it was Belinda Sinclair alongside Janet. She was Janet in the original London run (after Julie Covington had to withdraw due to injury).
You know, I was offered a ticket for last night but couldn't go as I was at Groundhog Day.
Isn't Nell Campbell just brilliant! She has us hanging on every word and eating out of the palm of her hand on Tuesday night.
I'd love to have seen her show on Tuesday... sadly geography and finance were both against me for that one. I was really happy to read what it was like in your post about it though!
I'm so excited for the Gala Perfromance tonight! A few more tickets have been released as cancellations come in. I just managed to upgrade from Circle to Stalls thanks to their very helpful box office staff.
How was the gala night? Anything special?
Matt, it was amazing!
Every seat had a free 50th anniversary brochure (that usually costs £8) with a glittery card wraparound marking the gala performance and promoting the Amnesty International charity. Donations were being taken on the night and can also be made via the link here: Link.
The evening began with a video introduction from Richard O’Brien who had intended to come to London but had to remain in New Zealand for health reasons. He gave a lovely introduction thanking all the fans for keeping RHS alive, and gave a special shout-out to the “rainbow community” of LQBTQIA fans.
Then the show proper began, the regular cast on top form as always. The next surprise of the evening came with the first appearance of the Narrator (“I would like, if I may…”) - it was only Little Nell! The crowd went wild for the original Columbia, and she interacted with the callbacks with some very naughty retorts of her own.
For Time Warp our Narrator was Philip Franks from the regular cast, then the following Narrator monologue was delivered by Raynor Bourton, the original Rocky Horror. Delightfully naughty too.
For Sword of Damocles and Eddie’s Teddy our narrator was Jackie Clune (who shares the role with Philip Franks on this leg of the tour).
Another surprise Narrator came later - fan favourite Steve Pemberton (The League of Gentlemen, Psychoville, Inside No.9). He played with the audience the most, with some particularly rude jokes about a certain ITV presenter who has been in the news recently.
They kept coming - a sharply dressed David Bedella looked almost as glamorous as he used to when he played Frank N Furter. He delivered the “Over… what was over?” segment, and replied to the usual audience retort of “Your career!” by lamenting how he’d spent too long at home fiddling with his… three Olivier Awards!
The final Narrator surprise came for the delivery of the Superheroes coda. “And crawling on the planets face, some insects called the human race - lost in time, and lost in space and meaning” sounded almost educational when delivered by physicist and science television presenter Brian Cox.
After the usual encores of Time Warp and Sweet Transvestite, Stephen Webb (regular cast Frank N Furter) gave a lovely speech and then brought all the guest narrators back on stage, along with some other special guests who had been in the audience - Patricia Quinn (original Magenta), Paddy O’Hagan (original Eddie/Dr Scott), and I think it was Belinda Sinclair (Janet from the original run), and Sue Blane who designed the original and current costumes. For this lovely moment all the legacy cast members were stood next to their current counterparts, and performed a final chorus of Time Warp.
I'm so excited for the Gala Perfromance tonight! A few more tickets have been released as cancellations come in. I just managed to upgrade from Circle to Stalls thanks to their very helpful box office staff.
It's listed on our local theatre website under the 'spoken word' category, so I think it might just be a talk... I agree though it's not clear on the website.
Very strange... the only thing I can find is a related donation page for Amnesty International, but that still doesn't give anything away. Although if it's a charity gala I expect the tickets will be rather pricey.
I'm extremely curious, especially given Nell Campbell will be in London - her one-woman show All's Nell that Ends Nell is on at the Trafalgar Theatre on Tuesday 23 May. Perhaps she'll be making an appearance.
Richard O'Brien was on stage in Australia recently (19 April) for the 50th Anniversary global opening night gala... maybe he's heading over to London too...? TimeWarp fan club suggested he was certainly keen to in the last member's letter, and that the club are very much involved in a number of projects, but nothing else has been announced as yet as far as I can tell.
Very exciting news - Jinkx is one of my absolute favourites to come out of all the Drag Race franchises. Her ‘Sketchy Queens’ show on streaming channel WOW Presents Plus deserves a much wider audience. Recently starred on Broadway as Mama Morton in CHICAGO.
Perfect timing too, given all these ridiculous bills emerging in some US States attempting to ban drag performances in public spaces.
There was a really good 2-part documentary on 5 recently called “Stock Aitken Waterman: Legends of Pop”.
Really interesting and great fun revisiting the hits and lesser-known hits. I was worried it would be a typical “ask anyone” affair, but it’s got some really good talking heads on it.
Might still be available on My5 if you’re interested.
Yes I've seen punters be refused alcohol at an ATG because they've had too many. If they kick up a fuss after that, I think it gives a reason to make it easier for the staff to get them removed from the premises.
Classic comedies e.g. One Foot in the Grave, Father Ted
There was supposed to be a Father Ted musical this year. Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy (who wrote the theme tune and My Lovely Horse from the Song for Europe episode) had been working on the score since 2019. Unfortunately it was axed due to co-creator Graham Linehan's controversial views.
I'm almost certain that Baked Potato is Jim Moir (aka Vic Reeves). I'm a big fan and recognize his singing voice and mannerisms. Having said that I'm surprised Jonathan Ross hasn't guessed it's him (yet) as they're old friends.
Bravo for seeing Halloween Ends so it can be nominated. I suspect it hasn't made most lists here because people avoided it.
I sometimes go to heavily-panned films in the hope of discovering a misunderstood masterpiece or something deliciously bad. I wondered about Halloween Ends but decided against going.
I couldn't find it within me to avoid Halloween Endsdue to love of the genre, completism and morbid curiosity!
I went in with an open mind hoping it would - at the very least - surely be better than its truly abysmal prior installment Halloween Kills.
My biggest disappointment of the year was Men(no pun intended). From the trailer I expected great things, but I found the movie itself to be very poor. It isn't in my 5 worst of 2022, but it was a huge disappointment.
My least favourite of 2022: 1. The Reef: Stalked 2. Morbius 3. Firestarter 4. Halloween Ends 5. Monstrous
Anyone else here that uses LetterBoxd? It's a fun app for logging and rating (and reviewing) films you've watched. You can connect with friends to see what they've been watching, and create/view lists of recommendations. These days I tend to check out the average rating of a film on there more than I do on rottentomatoes or IMDb.
My username there is ChuckieJay if anyone wants to make new friends on there.
My favourites of 2022: 1. Matilda the Musical 2. Everything Everywhere All At Once 3. The Banshees of Inisherin 4. Glass Onion 5. The Batman
Anyone else here that uses LetterBoxd? It's a fun app for logging and rating (and reviewing) films you've watched. You can connect with friends to see what they've been watching, and create/view lists of recommendations. These days I tend to check out the average rating of a film on there more than I do on rottentomatoes or IMDb.
My username there is ChuckieJay if anyone wants to make new friends on there.