The Rocky Horror Picture Show 50th Anniversary Party (The Dominion, 19/04/2026)-- Guest Review by Doctor Terror
I Remember Doing the Time Warp...
I first saw The Rocky Horror Picture Show almost entirely by accident. I was 16 and had travelled one Saturday to London to catch a Mel Brooks double bill (Silent Movie/High Anxiety) at the Notting Hill Coronet (long gone), and Young Frankenstein at the Cannon on the corner of Baker Street and the Marylebone Road (also long gone) which had been paired with The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
While his friend enjoys sax in the street, Dr Terror stretches the definition of 'smart casual' to breaking point!
From the opening number, which aptly sang of double features while Patricia Quinn's red, red lips mouthed the words, I was hooked and tonight, here she was, Magenta herself, revealing her head had been placed in a clamp to make that easier to shoot! Little Nell (Columbia) was here too, as was Brad (Barry Bostwick), far more filthy and boisterous than his onscreen persona, and Peter Hinwood (Rocky Horror himself, now bald as a coot). Talking of which, Richard O'Brien sent a special video message, as did poor Tim Curry, wheelchair-bound after a stroke, and mega-famous fundraiser, either Thelma or Louise (I forget which), Susan Sarandon.
It occurred to me that my friend Steve and I had chosen to dress as the two cast members who are now singing and dancing in the great beyond (him as Meat Loaf's Eddie and me as Charles Gray's Criminologist, equal parts Edgar Lustgarten and Boris Karloff introducing Thriller - the American TV show, not the song). Just as well we're not superstitious!
Following the panel discussion came a 'best fan cosplay' slot judged by Columbia herself and then the whole film was shown with the most amazing shadow cast reenactment. It was like seeing the film and the stage show AT THE SAME TIME, made all the better when the original actors stepped in occasionally to play themselves for a few minutes, before retiring to the wings exhausted.
A strange journey? Yes indeed. Immersive theatre at its finest? I should cocoa! I wouldn't be surprised if the sex shops of Soho are completely out of stock for fishnet tights for a week.