The Rocky Horror Picture Show – 50th Anniversary Spectacular Review
Written by Greta for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Tickets were gifted in return for an honest review. All views are our own
As a Rocky Horror Picture Show fan, I’ve always found something inherently liberating and joyful in a room full of self-proclaimed misfits. Especially if in glittering costumes and dramatic makeup. Last night, The Rocky Horror Picture Show 50th Anniversary Spectacular at the Dominion Theatre clearly conveyed the importance of preserving and celebrating its community.
The evening opened with a Q&A featuring four original cast members from the stage play and the film: jubilant Barry Bostwick (Brad Majors), incomparable Nell Campbell (Columbia), legendary Patricia Quinn (Magenta), and unpretentious Peter Hinwood (Rocky). For longtime fans, this is where the real gold lies. Even after spending years with The Rocky Horror Picture Show, there are new things to uncover about its origins and development; moreover, already known stories grow in significance and charm when narrated by the Rocky Horror royalty who was there to experience them.
It’s more than nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake, offering insight into a production that could hardly have predicted its own afterlife. Notably, The Rocky Horror Picture Show film was as a commercial failure back when it was released in 1975; the film gained momentum through midnight screenings and devoted queer audiences, eventually becoming a cult and one of cinema’s longest-running releases. The behind-the-scenes tales reflected the unassuming original context, reinforcing that the universe works in mysterious ways and fates can change in the spans of minutes.
The screening itself, presented on a large 4K screen, maintained its vibrant charm. “Over at the Frankenstein Place” had the whole audience covering themselves from the rain using newspapers and waving colourful lights; a magical sequence that will remain etched in my memory for a long time. “Time Warp” saw the participation of Nell Campbell, who reprised her beloved Columbia; her admirably skilled and enthusiastic performance, tap-dancing live and lip-syncing to her 21-year-old self on screen, was worth the entire night at the theatre. Still commanding the room, still an incredible dancer, she proved that some performances don’t dull with time, but settle powerfully into their legacy.
That legacy is hard to ignore. Queer audiences embraced Rocky Horror and turned it into the phenomenon it is today, reshaping a box-office disappointment into a cultural touchstone. That sense of ownership is palpable here, the audience participation organic rather than forced, and growing increasingly bold. The message, brilliantly elaborated on by magnificent Susan Sarandon in a recorded clip, is simple and powerful: if you’re figuring things out, this is the place for you as you are – and you’re in good company.
The overall event could have been slightly smoother and would have benefited from a slightly tighter structure. The costume contest, for example, felt a bit underwhelming and missed an opportunity to properly harness the room’s enthusiasm. The shadow cast, made up by Rocky Horror fans, had little direction (though there were some truly committed performances in the second half), but the ethos of the evening is after all less about precision and more about devotion - the kind that is felt rather than taught.
That’s ultimately what carries the night; not polish or reminiscence, but the fans themselves. The ones who kept this film alive, who transformed it, who still show up and make it their own. The production acknowledges that truth without overstating it: Rocky Horror belongs to its audience and has done so for the last fifty years. Here’s to the next fifty!
The Rocky Horror Picture Show: 50th Anniversary Spectacular is touring in the UK until May 3rd, full dates here.
★ ★ ★ ★
