Richard O’Brien was so far ahead of his time back in 1973, you would assume he had access to a Tardis. O’Brien is the writer of The Rocky Horror Show, the phenomenally successful stage show that became a film in 1975. He’s a man of quite wonderful prescience.
Who else of his time could have created a stage musical that highlighted gender fluidity, diversity – and offered such a cunning contempt for conformity? In creating a show that’s celebrated as a queer art-form, could anyone else have done more to break down societal prejudices?
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However, as O’Brien, whose Rocky Horror returns to Glasgow this month, acknowledges, it wasn’t entirely futuristic vision which saw him create this world of high-campery. The story of college innocents Brad and Janet, who find themselves stranded in a creepy mansion inhabited by some colourful characters, emerged from some of the scary thoughts in the writer’s hairless head.
“All my life, I’ve been fighting, torn in two and battling – never belonging, actually. Never being male. Or female. Wondering if I was born transgender? Did it happen in the womb? That might have made it easier. I don’t know. Or was it psychological?”
The New Zealand-raised writer adds; “I’d been going to therapy, treating what I was as though it was some kind of illness – getting more and more depressed, wondering, ‘Could I be cured?’ I went mad, really. My marriage was going down the tubes and I just lost it. Lost it. Lost it ...”
But he found an outlet, certainly an escape, in creating the wonderfully camp Rocky Horror. And not only has the trans world been handed long overdue validation – the show has been seen in 30 countries to audiences of 30 million – it’s also become a participation sport, with theatregoers encouraged to wear whatever outfit they can find in the party shop or their big sister’s wardrobe. And of course, to join in with the commentary.
That’s where the role of the Narrator comes in. His/her task is to tell the tale and encourage/cope with the audience commentary. Joe McFadden joins an illustrious list of celebrity names (the likes of Dom Jolly and Alison Hammond) who have played the pivotal role in the show.
“As the Narrator, the most interesting thing about the role is that you never know what you’re going to get from the audience,” says the actor who first rose to fame in STV soap Take the High Road.
“There’s a vague script that we do every night, but then sometimes the audience will just throw something in there that you’re not expecting, and they can see on my face that I’m completely floundering and that’s what makes my job interesting.”
McFadden, whose first ever theatre visit as a child was to the Pavilion, to see Fairground Attraction, smiles as he admits he loves the unpredictability of the Rocky performance. “When things go wrong or off the script I don’t even mind because it means that the audience is getting something special, and something that last night’s audience didn’t get. It’s not one of these roles where you learn the script and you just go on and do it, in The Rocky Horror Show you have to keep your wits about you and that’s the most exciting thing.”
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Joe McFadden brings a huge range of theatrical experience to his role in O’Brien’s stage play. Over the years he has starred in the likes of Rent, Entertaining Mr Sloane and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. He’s recently completed a panto run in High Wycombe. And television has showcased his talent in the likes of Holby and Heartbeat.
The actor recognises the social impact that Rocky Horror has had; “The show in itself is certainly a celebration of people who are different [“Don’t dream it, be it!”] and that’s been its appeal ever since it started 50 years ago at the Royal Court. It was trailblazing and it was acknowledging that we’re all different. No two people are the same, they can pretend, and they can point the finger at others but ultimately, we all want the same things, and this show is an absolute celebration of that.”
Yet, the actor is the first to admit there are other reasons why Rocky continues to rock. It’s funny. Very funny. The camp humour, presented in American B Movie sensibility, never abates. And there’s the music – songs such as the Time Warp, Sweet Transvestite and Dammit Janet.
“With shows like this, where the songs uplift you, you can’t help but go in and have a really nice time. The music is a big element, and while I love theatre and straight plays there’s something really joyous about doing a musical.”
The Rocky Horror Show, The Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow, January 30-February 4.
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