16/06/2026
RICHARD O'BRIEN'S THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW
At Pieter Toerien's Montecasino Theatre & Studio until 16 August
The original production of The Rocky Horror Show premiered on 19 June 1973 at the Theatre Upstairs in London's Royal Court Theatre. It was an extraordinarily small venue - just 63 seats in an attic.
Never conceived as a large-scale musical it was written by a frustrated actor, Richard O'Brien (an actor with an itch to scratch), and directed by Jim Sharman, a (luckily) visionary Australian with a taste for the unconventional.
Sci-fi. B-grade horror films. Comic books. Glam rock. Pop culture. Magic. And more than a pinch of madness. A score that embraced many genre's - early rock 'n roll, glam icons, doo-wop, torch songs and energy through the roof.
The original cast performed in very close proximity to the audience, and the atmosphere was intimate, edgy and immersive rather than spectacular. Audience interaction and the sense of being "inside the party" were built into the very DNA of this show. And it was scandalous!!
The success of that tiny production led to a move, within two months, to the 230-seat Chelsea Classic Cinema and then to the 500-seat King's Road Theatre, where it ran for many years.
And nowโฆ
It slithers into the 400-seat Pieter Toerien's Montecasino Theatre & Studio for an eight-week season.
And it couldn't be better.
It begins when you enter the auditorium - greeted by "phantoms" setting the tone for the naughtiness that is about to beginโฆ and then the Usherette steps onto the stage and the audience is transfixed. Any thoughts of "Rocky Horror... again?" simply disappear into the ether as Jasmine Minter's vocals sn**ch your attention away from your phone, your to-do list and anything remotely mundane.
As Magenta, she is glorious too - one half of a sibling pairing completed by the staggeringly superb Schoeman Smit as Riff Raff. Love, love, love him in this role (and any other role).
I get the feeling that Craig Urbani loves this show, loves this role, and for that we thank the theatre gods. Thank goodness we get to see him reprising Frank-n-Furter once again. The way he owns the stage, the physicality, the vocals, the innuendo, the humour, the s*x appeal, his legs in fish nets... he makes this role his own while reminding us exactly why Frank remains one of musical theatre's most iconic creations. IMO no-one could inhabit Frank the way Urbani does.
Frank's creation - the super-buff, oiled and beautifully vacant Rocky, played by Micah Stojakovic combines the character's physical perfection with spot-on Bambi-like naivety and baffled bewilderment.
Anne Power takes over from Natasha Sutherland as the Narrator for the Johannesburg run and is sublimely all-business BBC authority. The perfect foil to the delicious chaos unfolding around her. A fabulously up(t)right performance.
And then there are Brad and Janet. Robert Everson and Lรฉa Blerk are perfectly cast. Blerk is almost impossible to take your eyes off - strikingly, innocently beautiful, with a captivating stage presence - while Everson channels an earnest Clark Kent energy that makes Brad's journey all the more entertaining.
Now let's talk about Columbia. Dear Anna Olivier, you are radiant. You inhabit this role with bubbling, effervescent joy, wearing your heart entirely on your sleeve. Columbia's emotional roller coaster is in very safe hands, and Olivier delivers it all with enormous warmth, vulnerability and phenomenal dance ability. Gorgeous!
Zak Hendricks' appearances as Eddie and later Dr Everett Scott feel far too brief. One moment he's tearing onto the stage to the sounds of a motorcycle and the next he's demonstrating remarkable agility in a wheelchair. Both performances leave you wanting more.
The ever-present ensemble are magnificent, adding layers of harmony, energy and s*xiness in abundance. Simone Neethling, Alessia Gironi, Gabriella Knight, Miguel de Sampaio, Sasha Duffy, Taya Pearson and Tjaart van der Walt ooze talent and stage presence.
This is not a spectacle to be viewed from a distance - here you can feel the audience around you, hear the reactions, join the madness and become part of the experience - a party that you're invited to join. And as you throw your inhibitions away, you are so glad that you did.
Superb direction by Steven Stead, choreography by Duane Alexander and Naoline Quinzin, set (Greg King) and costume (Terrence Bray) design, lighting (Faheem Bardien), sound (David Classen) and musical direction (Kevin Kraak and Jaco Griessel).
Thank you LAMTA - Luitingh Alexander Musical Theatre Academy and Pieter Toerien Productions. It's a must!! Yippee!!
Tickets Webtickets
https://www.webtickets.co.za/v2/event.aspx?itemid=1588311851
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