Rocky Horror Show Review: 4 Stars

Rocky Horrow Show. Photo: Arthaus / Facebook.

Arthaus’ production of Rocky Horror Show is a tough one to review, not least because I’m one of the cult followers. The show has a lot of layers, including semi-scripted audience participation that also needs to be taken into account in any critique. I attended the final performance and found a gloriously camp assault on the senses, bringing together some powerhouse vocals, infectious choreography and deliciously subversive costumes. Before we continue, the full details:

Rocky Horror Show – details

Play	Rocky Horror Show
My Rating	⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)
Producer	Arthaus, Mediterranean Conference Centre
Book & lyrics	Richard O’Brien
Music	Richard O’Brien
Director	Lucienne Camilleri
Music director	Ryan Paul Abela
Lead cast	Cliff Zammit Stevens, Joseph Zammit, Talitha Dimech, Stephen Oliver, Andrew Buhagiar, Bettina Mattocks, David Ellul, Bertha Farrugia, Neil Cutajar, Francesca Scerri
Ensemble	Dean Ellul, Ali Kanay Demirci, Cloe Bonello, Katrina Lupi, Keith Dimech, Nicholas Aquilina, Nicole Arrigo, Rachel Vella, Rebecca Darmanin, Samantha Corrieri Dela, Stefania Grech Vella
Band	Luke Grech, Ryan Paul Abela, Melchior Busuttil, Bruno Arruda, Emilia Zrinzo Azzopardi
Set design	Stefania Grech Vella, D Show Design, Neil Grech
Costume design	Stefania Grech Vella
Production manager	Stefania Grech Vella
Stage Manager	Joseph Camilleri
Vocal coach	Claire, McCartin
Choreography	Amy Caruana Dingli
Running Time	2.5 hours including interval
Dates	October 30 till November 1
Venue	Mediterranean Conference Centre
Language	English

Rocky Horror Show – book and score

This musical is an irreverent celebration of B-movie schlock that sometimes makes me wonder how on earth it became so famous. It’s been around since 1973, serving a subversive mix of Frankenstein, BDSM, 50s rock ‘n’ roll and 70s glam rock. Anyone with half a rock ‘n roll soul responded to it in the only way possible, by turning it into a cult hit.

The book is as absurd as it gets: Brad and Janet are a straight-laced couple who just got engaged. They get a flat tyre in the middle of nowhere and knock at the door of the only house in the area. This turns out to be Dr Frank-n-Furter’s place, the sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania who’s surrounded by a posse of lusciously depraved oddballs and who has just created Rocky, his ridiculously fit answer to Mary Shelley’s Creature. Sexual mayhem and treachery ensue, served with some iconic numbers that got most of the audience leaping out of their seat and joining in the moves.

Having just reviewed Little Shop of Horrors, I was struck by how both musicals revel in absurdity, albeit in very different ways. While the former grounds its outrageous premise in a surprisingly conventional sci-fi narrative, Rocky Horror embraces chaos with almost evangelical enthusiasm. Yet, both remain impressively effective with audiences.

Rocky Horror Show – the cast

There are some real gems here, both within the list of top-billed names and the supporting ones. The star of the night has to be Talitha Dimech’s Janet. Dimech’s performance was consistently commanding, culminating in a vocal tour de force with Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me. Joseph Zammit’s Dr Frank-n-Furter is magnetic, his Sweet Transvestite delivering the perfect blend of seduction, swagger and menace.

Zammit is yet to disappoint on stage, and his versatility makes him an asset to practically any production. He’s fresh from standout reviews in Edinburgh for The Trials of Magnus Coffinkey and for the second run of Boċċi – The Musical, two wildly diffent roles. This is an insane number of characters to inhabit so successfully over such a short span of time, yet another testament to Zammit’s skill as a performer.

Cliff Zammit Stevens (Brad), Francesca Scerri (usherette) and Neil Cutajar (Eddie/Dr Scott) all acquit themselves well, while Stephen Oliver’s Narrator was roguishly charming, deftly turning audience interruptions into comic interludes. Andrew Buhagiar makes for a wonderfully eccentric Riff Raff, capturing the character’s contradictory servility and resentment beautifully. When, eventually, the dramatic shift from servility to power occurs, Buhagiar handles it superbly.

Bettina Mattocks’ Magenta was an effectively unsettling stage presence, while Bertha Farrugia’s Columbia amply delivered on her solo moments in the Time Warp and later, towards the end of the show. David Ellul’s Rocky was perhaps the least convincing of the principal performances, although he certainly looked the part and delivered on the choreography. His vocals lacked the assurance of his fellow cast members, and there were moments when I struggled to decipher the lyrics.

The ensemble, captained by Dean Ellul, executed Amy Caruana Dingli’s choreography with precision and excellent synchronisation. Even as the principal characters took centre stage, the ensemble maintained a constant movement, adding depth to the action without overshadowing the main events.

Direction, staging, music, costumes

Director Lucienne Camilleri had her work cut out for her with this production, and she rose to the occasion. Audience participation is central to the success of The Rocky Horror Show , so I’m starting with this unconventional aspect of direction. Camilleri handled it effectively, going well beyond the obligatory callbacks. Ensemble members warmed up the audience before the curtain rose, and were then strategically positioned to lead the audience through the movements. This made us all feel part of the action without interrupting the flow of the performance.

Pacing and transitions were likewise well-handled: Rocky Horror Show presents a series of increasingly outrageous situations, and there’s always the danger that the momentum falters between its iconic numbers, but it didn’t.

Staging by D Show Design, Stefania Grech Vella and Neil Grech involved a three-tier arrangement, with the principal action on the ground, secondary action on the first tier, and the band at the top. This made a visual impact at first glance, with screens on either side showing graphics and callout instructions. But disappointingly, the set itself remained static throughout. I’d have liked to see more visual transformation beyond the individual props and furniture. I couldn’t help feeling that more could have been made of the ambitious design.

The 5-piece band was under the direction of Ryan Paul Abela, and it was on point throughout. Their tight, energetic performance provided the musical backbone to the chaos unfolding on stage. Costumes by Stefania Grech Vella, complemented by Talitha Dimech’s makeup, landed somewhere between bordello chic and a BDSM dungeon, with predictably outrageous results. Brad and Janet’s sartorial journey from squeaky-clean to raunchy worked particularly well, their changing appearance mirroring the surrender to the madness around them.

Arthaus’s Rocky Horror Show – My Verdict

With a show like Rocky Horror it’s easy to equate audience enthusiasm with theatrical success. Everyone arrived ready to fulfil the brief, but this production achieved more than simply riding this wave of enthusiasm. I saw strong performances, disciplined choreography, an accomplished band and cleverly managed audience participation. These all helped deliver a production that lived up to its cult reputation, even if a couple of elements fell short.

Affiliate/Advertising Disclaimer: How I Carry Out Reviews

I received no payment for this review of Rocky Horror Show, and I was offered press tickets. The opinions expressed here are purely my own and the producers had no input/control over what I wrote. There are no affiliate links contained within this page. To learn more about my policies and my reviewing process, visit my Affiliate/Advertising disclosure page. To better understand what my rating means, check out the details of the star system. Check out another equally funny show: Cagliostro & The Pirate Queen: The Secret Story of Malta.