RICHARD O’BRIEN’S ROCKY HORROR SHOW | UK TOUR @ EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE
★★★★★
“Deliciously subversive…”
Over the decades, Bobby Crush, Daniel Abineri, David Bedella, Oliver Thornton, Liam Tamne, Duncan James, Stephen Webb and even Richard O’Brien himself, have all played Frank N Furter on Edinburgh’s stages. However, it’s Jason Donovan who, more than most, has made the role his own. The Neighbours heart-throb first donned fishnets and basque in 1998 and, nearly three decades on, kicks off the 2026 tour of Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show at the Edinburgh Playhouse.
A packed Edinburgh Playhouse on a Tuesday night is testament to the evergreen attraction of the cult musical and of the pulling power of its star, Jason Donovan; the roar that greets the dimming of lights as the band strike up is only bettered by the cheers that greet the first strains of Sweet Transvestite ahead of Donovan’s entrance and the standing ovation that awaits the entire cast at the curtain call.
For any ‘virgins’ out there, that is to say, anyone unfamiliar with the show, Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show is the tale of Brad and Janet, a young loved-up couple who find themselves caught up in the terrifying and tantalising world of depraved alien scientist, Dr Frank N Furter and his menagerie of strange creatures… an experience from which they may never recover.
Leading from the front, Donovan is joined by the strongest Rocky Horror Show company in a decade and there’s a nice mix of old and new faces. From Narrator Jackie Clune, whose ad-libs to the obligatory audience call-outs are sharply political and laugh out loud funny, to playful new Riff Raff, Ryan Carter-Wilson, mesmerising Laura Bird, who as The Usherette/Magenta bookends the show with evocative renditions of Science Fiction, and a rocking Edward Bellingham on top form as both Eddie and Dr Everett Scott, this is an A-Team cast.
That’s never more true than with the return of the brilliant Haley Flaherty. Eleven years on from her debut in the role, Flaherty is now the quintessential Janet. Her pairing with James Bisp as Brad is perfect casting. Their chemistry as the all-American High School sweethearts is subtle and nuanced; Bisp’s overcompensating Brad always just under the thumb of Flaherty’s confidently determined heroine.
Both boast impressive vocals and, even if Brad has lost his ‘Buddy Holly hiccup’ on There’s A Light, both that number and their duet on Super Heroes are highlights. So too is Flaherty’s delivery of Touch-A, Touch-A, Touch Me, with everybody’s favourite ‘Pocket Rocket’ Rocky, a high energy, gymnastic turn from the exuberant Morgan Jackson who ensures this Rocky has more than just the Charles Atlas Seal of Approval and is a fully rounded character.
In this Rocky Horror universe, all are planets that orbit Donovan’s ground-breaking Frank N Furter, an immaculately observed creation that channels the laissez-faire joie de vivre of his predecessors while investing the character with world-weary resignation. Eminently watchable, his iconic anti-hero is a washed-up subversive, slowly succumbing to the over-indulgence of his bacchanalian lifestyle. It’s a physically impressive performance with a wonderfully bittersweet vein of pathos and melancholy running through it.
Deftly directed by Christopher Luscombe and tightly choreographed by Nathan M Wright, kudos too must go to the five piece band, under musical director Adam Smith, that provides the beating heart of the musical numbers, and to Gareth Owen whose sound design is by turn fun, moody and threatening, but always sonorous, while lighting designer Nick Richings never forgets his audience are part of the action; gorgeous, probing beams of colour bringing the big numbers into the auditorium.
As the story builds towards its climax, and the cast bring a new depth of emotion and truth to proceedings this is a company that re-energises The Rocky Horror Show, now in its 53rd year and still proving the most deliciously subversive piece of theatre on the stage. Let’s do the Time-Warp again!
NB | Jason Donovan also appears as Frank N Furter in the 2026 Tour of Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show at the following venues on the following dates: Liverpool Empire Theatre, 4-9 May, Eastbourne Congress Theatre, 19-23 May and Bristol Hippodrome, 13-18 July 13–18, Tickets HERE.
Run ends 10 January, Tickets HERE
