BWW Reviews: THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW, Nottingham Theatre Royal, 24th May 2010

When a lead actor has been in the role for the best part of four years, you'd expect that his performance and the show would be a bit stale by now.

When that actor is David Bedella and the show is The Rocky Horror Show? Not a bit of it.

Bedella continues to have the time of his life camping it up in his heels and fabulous glitter lipstick as Frank N Furter. The creatives have cunningly rotated much of the supporting cast as the tour has continued, so while it's lovely to see Richard Meek back in his rightful role as Brad, it's also great (in more ways than one) to see Dominic Tribuzio don the leopard-print trunks and body glitter as Rocky. Current Janet Haley Flaherty is a great physical comedienne, using her vocal ability to its fullest; and it's nice to note that the directors aren't resting on their laurels, with a few small but noticeable tweaks and additions in several places - much appreciated by this recurring visitor.

For this 1980s baby, the most exciting piece of casting is Maxwell Caulfield, performing on this leg of the tour as the narrator. The leather-clad intellectual of Grease 2, the sleazy washed-up pop star of Empire Records - both his biggest films were staple viewing for me as a teenager and it was more exciting than even I'd antici...pated to see him live on stage.

One minor quibble - the Phantoms should be warned that they can be seen behind the thin screens when they're waiting to come on for the floor show.

Oh, and a note to the audience - yes, the shout-outs are part of the fun, but if you're talking over the actors, YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG. They'll leave a pause when they're expecting participation. It's simple.

The Rocky Horror Show continues to tour the UK throughout 2010.

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