"The Rocky Horror Show". New Theatre
The Rocky Horror Show is a musical about an alien creature from the planet Transsexual, who tries to fit in on planet Earth while being true to their own sexuality. Ultimately they are destroyed. Heteronormativity triumphs, but it's a hollow victory, as the one character who brought vivacity, imagination and pure raunch to their party of unconventional conventionalists has paid the ultimate price. It’s a tribute to trans rights. The show is over half a century old. Have we learnt nothing in those years? Supreme Court, take note. Audiences in the early 1970s were the young, the rebellious and the open-minded. To them, Frank N. Furter's hedonistic philosophy, 'Give Yourself Over To Absolute Pleasure', was a doorway that opened into gardens of delight and heightened awareness. I'm not sure it has the same resonance in 2025. The audience at the New Theatre were middle-aged cosplayers out for a singalong. The absolute pleasure they came for was to see an old nostalgic f...