Review: The Rocky Horror Picture Show - 50th Anniversary Spectacular Tour (Dominion Theatre)

Review by Daz Gale

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There are few movies that have become as much of a cult classic as The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Though it may not have been an immediate success, it has more than stood the test of time, attracting a devoted fanbase that has become a community in itself, as well as repeat screenings and continued events. To mark the 50th anniversary of the movie’s 1975 release (51 years technically, but who’s counting?), some of the original cast members have reunited for The 50th Anniversary Spectacular Tour, combining elements of a screening and convention. I rocked up to the Dominion Theatre for the London date of this tour, excited to experience this iconic movie in a way like never before and, of course, do the time warp again.

The evening itself was fittingly almost a double feature in itself. After a portion of the audience enjoyed meet and greets with four original cast members, the show kicked off with videos and an introduction from Larry Vizel that threatened to turn into his own stand-up comedy show before a costume contest among the brilliantly dressed audience members took place. Finally, the original cast members took to the stage for a Q&A before a special screening of the movie was played, accompanied by a shadow cast. This had all the right ingredients for a special night; however, the execution was far from slick.

The main draw of this event was the appearance of the original cast members, Barry Bostwick (Brad Majors), Nell Campbell (Columbia), Patricia Quinn (Magenta) and the first appearance of the original Rocky, Peter Hinwood, for the first time on this tour. The opportunity to see all four of them in conversation was utterly compelling and a fascinating insight into the making of the film and their enigmatic personalities. The problem is that it was all too short, with the stars on stage for less than half an hour. For comparison, when I had the honour of sitting down with three of the stars for my podcast recently, I was given more time than they were on stage. Given that they have no shortage of stories to tell, it’s a shame they were treated as simply the appetisers for the main course of the movie, when I’d have quite happily enjoyed some dessert with them as well.

Highlights from their time on stage included Barry Bostwick bursting into a rendition of ‘Once In A While’, Brad’s song from the stage musical that was cut from the movie. Bostwick is a magnetic personality, quick-witted and charismatic, and whenever he spoke on stage proved among the strongest moments. Nell Campbell is a similar force and stole the show when she made a surprise appearance during the screening of the movie to mirror her iconic part of ‘Time Warp’. Patricia Quinn is a dominating presence, taking up most of the stage time with her lengthy but riveting stories, while Peter Hinwood may not have been used to being on a stage such as the Dominion, but the rare glimpses he offered into his relatively short-lived career as an actor were fascinating.

It was then time for the screening of the movie, played on a fairly modest-sized screen, which may have been a bit too small, given the size of the theatre. If you are paying for a screening of a movie, you expect the highest quality, and I dare say this fell quite short, given the technology around at the moment. There was also the rather bizarre choice to have an interval “20 minutes into the movie”, which in reality happened closer to the hour mark, even more bizarrely. To break up the movie with a 15-minute interval, which ran even longer, was an odd choice and one that killed momentum. Surely, the more sensible choice would have been to do all the pre-movie elements, such as the costume competition and Q&A and play the movie in its entirety afterwards? As Vizel kept reminding the audience at every opportunity, memorabilia was available, and it seemed that was the biggest purpose of the evening, to make money, even if it compromised the quality that fans of Rocky Horror deserve.

If I were to review the movie itself, this would be a very different rating, as how can you fault a classic that has stood the test of time like The Rocky Horror Picture Show? Watching it in such a large crowd was an experience like no other, with every audience member given a bag of props to use at select moments (party hat, glowstick, newspaper, glove - all the essentials). Of course, Rocky Horror has a unique aspect with its audience in the participation that has become such a notable part of the experience. Audience members frequently called out either in unison at the agreed heckles (such as every time poor Janet Weiss had her name mentioned) or making up their own to often hilarious results. To anyone who enjoys watching a film in pure silence, this would not be the experience for you. For anyone who wants to succumb to the madness and immerse themselves in the community aspect, it was hard not to have fun.

There was one aspect of the 50th Anniversary Spectacular that let it down substantially, and that was the shadow cast. For anyone unaware, a shadow cast performs parts (or all) of the movie on stage while the original plays in the background. A great example of this was last year’s Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical in Battersea, seeing an incredible cast of performers bring the movie to life in a way that matched the high quality of the original.

This did the opposite.

While I understand the people on stage as the shadow cast are all fans of the movie, and their passion should be commended, they really had no business being on a stage like the Dominion Theatre. Underrehearsed and chaotic, many didn’t know their lines and seemed to be making it up as they went along. Timing was always off, with cast members doing their “shocking reveals” before the moment happened on screen, and the energy was the lowest I have ever seen on any stage. Cast members slowly chasing each other around the stage before stopping to catch their breath may not have quite matched the magic of the movie presented behind them. Perhaps it could be said that the chaos added to the campness and fun of it, but this was not a night at your local community hall, this was one of the biggest theatres in the West End, and the price people paid did not reflect the quality of the performance they expected.

While this was billed as a celebration of all things Rocky Horror and a way to celebrate the community, I couldn’t help feeling it was a missed opportunity to give the fanbase the event they deserved. While there were some incredible moments in 50th Anniversary Spectacular, and it was an enjoyable experience overall, it could have been so much better than what was presented. Using the tools at your disposal (namely, the legendary original cast), this needed to have been curated and organised in a much stronger way. Rocky Horror fans are among the most devoted, creative and vocal fanbases in the world, and I would argue the success of this tour is down to the fans and what they bring themselves, rather than some of the subpar elements the producers are responsible for. Though overall the event didn’t quite touch-a touch-a touch-a touch me, it was still a fun evening that might not have matched the quality of the movie, but was far from a horror show in itself.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show - 50th Anniversary Spectacular Tour continues into May. Tickets from https://www.scottstander.com/rocky

Listen to my podcast with Barry Bostwick, Nell Campbell and Patricia Quinn for some truly interesting insights about their time filming - Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify