What a lot of people won't know is that creator Richard O'Brien (for those of a certain age forever the host of "The Crystal Maze" game show) wrote a musical "sequel" to "Rocky Horror" - and it's really rather good.
"Shock Treatment" was released into cinemas in 1981. All-American couple Brad and Janet Majors re-appear, while O'Brien and other well-known actors from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" portray new characters.
The plot? Well, although it's supposedly set several years after the climactic events of "Rocky Horror", it's not exactly a sequel - more of an "equal". I'll try to give you a brief (ish) summary:
"Shock Treatment" sees Brad (Cliff De Young) & Janet's (Jessica Harper) entire home town of Denton (USA) turned into a 24-house reality TV station under the control of the mysterious Farley Flavors. With their marriage suffering, the hapless couple are chosen to try and resolve their difficulties on live TV as contestants on "Marriage Maze", hosted by (supposedly) blind Austrian Bert Schnick (Barry Humphries).
Janet is tricked into believing that Brad has physiological problems and that committing him to the "Dentonvale" insane asylum - under the dubious care of Doctors Cosmo and Nation McKinley (Richard O'Brien and Patricia Quinn) - will be the only way to save him. Cosmo has Brad drugged, bound and gagged, and placed in a padded cell.
The enigmatic Farley Flavors plans to use the power of Denton television to create a new type of entertainment - "Faith Factory" - with Janet as the perfect "girl next door" face of his psychological reality show. Janet is persuaded that this new exciting life will make her desirable to Brad again. Cosmo also designs a sexy new outfit for her, transforming her into "Miss Mental Health".
Manufactured into an overnight sensation, the fame goes to Janet's head, causing her to forget about repairing her marriage with Brad. With her ego out of control, the McKinley's drug her to keep her manageable.
"Faith Factory" goes on the air with Janet front and centre in her drugged state. In disguise, Judge Wright and Betty break Brad out of "Dentonvale". It transpires that Farley is really Brad's long lost twin brother, who wants to destroy Brad's life and seduce Janet out of jealousy. Brad finally confronts Farley face-to-face about his plans and at the last moment Janet snaps out of her ego-trip and comes to her senses.
Angrily, Farley has them all arrested, and convinces the entire population of Denton (the studio audience) to join him in Dentonvale asylum, to which they readily agree!
Brad, Janet, Betty and the Judge escape out of the deserted studio and the town itself, leaving Denton far behind, but with their hopes and ideals intact...
The film is full of outlandish quirky performances (including one from a very young Rik Mayall) and O'Brien's trademark catchy songs - such as "Bitchin' In The Kitchen", "Little Black Dress", "Looking For Trade" and "Duel Duet". It's also a biting satire on the public obsession with television and eerily predicts the rise of reality shows.You can listen to the whole sensational soundtrack here -
The film should have been a resounding success. It deserved to be. Instead it flopped badly - even more than Rocky Horror did. It never got a proper commercial release and was consigned to the trashcan of history, only fondly remembered by fans (including the BBC's own film critic, Mark Kermode). Apart from the DVD release and the occasional midnight screenings, that was it for Brad and Janet. Until now...
You see, this post isn't really about the movie version of Shock Treatment, as fabulous as that is. All of the above is just a preamble (and necessary backstory) to my trip to see the brand new first-time-ever stage show.
That no one has attempted to do a stage version of Shock Treatment before now is baffling. Perhaps Richard O'Brien was just waiting for the right moment? I have read that he gave Tom Crowley the rights to adapt it with the proviso that it only be performed at a small independent theatre - much like Rocky Horror's humble beginnings at Upstairs at the Royal Court.
The chance to see this possibly once in a lifetime event was too good to miss. So, at midnight on a Friday at the beginning of May 2015, myself and friend Betsy Chevron (of 'Binro Was Right' podcast fame) found ourselves at the King's Head Theatre in the London borough of Islington.
And the King's Head *is* small. Tucked away in the back room behind the bar of the pub, it's apparently the first and longest operating pub theatre in the UK. Fighting our way through the hordes of late night drinkers, we entered this compact space to find just a few rows of seats and a tiny stage. It must only hold around 60 people at best and the performance area is level with the audience. In fact we were in the front row and felt that we were *on* the stage. If I had stretched out my legs I would have tripped the performers up!
Two orange boiler suited TV minions in dark glasses welcomed us, making sardonic quips and getting everyone seated. The four piece band squeezed into the corner started up the Overture and the lights went down...
Now the very nature of creating a theatrical performance instead of a film has meant that there have had to be some changes made to the story. Gone is the reveal of Farley Flavors as Brad's twin brother (which would have been impossible to pull off unless you had real twins available). Also absent are ancillary characters such as Bert Schnick, the Judge, Janet's parents and Macy Struthers. It's a pared back story, a smaller cast and a simple layout - just one white set doubling as TV studio and asylum - with clever use of a minimal plastic screen, some curtains and a "hospital stretcher". Despite these seeming limitations the core story is not lost at all and the cast fling themselves around with gusto.
The small setting also means that the show really interacts with the viewing public. Doctors Cosmo and Nation McKinley first appear from within the audience and at several points actors climb over the seats, dance up and down the short aisle, sing directly to individual people and even sit on the laps of the lucky few at the front (not me sadly).
As for the cast? Well there are some fantastic performances throughout. I was already familiar with Julie Atherton from her time in Avenue Q (another tremendous subversive musical), so there were no concerns about her singing ability in the part of Janet Majors. She is charming as the dowdy wife and then really vamps it up in that oh so tight little black dress and the even tighter PVC nurses uniform - neither of which leave anything to the imagination.
Ben Kerr plays Brad well as the quiet, rather dull and dutiful husband. He has a good voice but I felt he was let down during "Bitchin' In The Kitchen' by some poor sound issues. It's a shame that he has very little to do during most of the show apart from pretend to be drugged in a wheelchair. Saying that, he does belt out a reprise of "In My Own Way" near the end while dressed in only white underpants and socks. Brave man.
With the dubious Doctors McKinley, they have wisely stayed away making them look like Richard O'Brien and Patricia Quinn, although there is a hint of Riff-Raff and Magenta in some of the delivery. Adam Rhys-Davies and Nic Lamont are as wacky as you would expect, with a nice line in sarcastic put downs and innuendo laden commentary. I was fascinated by the way Cosmo twisted his lips when speaking and it was only later I realised that it reminded me of a cross between Timmy Mallett and Dame Edna.
Rhys-Davies also seemed to have a lot of fun in trying to make the other cast members laugh. There was a great scene where he is measuring Janet for her Little Black Dress and his hand is *way* up her skirt. Julie Atherton let out a small squeak. "Hand a little too high there?" Adam quipped, and they both tried to stifle a giggle. He then continues to "see-saw" the tape measure back and forth between her legs, while Julie tried to control herself. "You'd better wash that afterwards..." she spluttered - at which point Adam proceeded to lick the length of the tape, before turning to the audience and declaring "Tell me you wouldn't !"
As Betty Hapschatt, Rosanna Hyland was principally there to move the plot along, although she was also charming and funny and gorgeous in equal measure. She does acquit her self admirably in the ensemble song and dance routines and I was treated to a little kiss at one point...
The stand out star of the show though is Mateo Oxley as Ralph Hapschatt. Yes, his performance is an outrageously camp caricature, but it's never anything less than hilarious. With his rubber face and superb comic timing, he gets many of the nights best laughs. Ralph also has a much larger musical presence now, with a couple of big numbers - "Thank God I’m A Man" and "Breaking Out" - to himself, plus excellent support against Janet in "Little Black Dress" and "Me Of Me".
The switch around in songs is another effect of this being a stage show not a film, but it does work. All the favourites are present, just occasionally with different singers and maybe an extra or missing verse. The most obvious amendment is where "Looking For Trade" becomes "Looking For Fame", but it does make narrative sense and in our "famous for doing nothing" obsessed times it perhaps has even more resonance. There are also a few "Easter eggs " for fans peppered throughout the script - a quick "Dammit, Janet" got a big laugh.
Perhaps the one fly in the ointment was Mark Little (once Joe Mangle of Aussie opera Neighbours) as the megalomaniacal media mogul Farley Flavors. Although he had some charisma and presence in his gleaming white plastic suit and devilish looking beard - wildly extolling the virtues of "Faith Factory" and seductively whispering "Time is tight, Janet. Do It right, Janet. Until tonight, Janet..." - he ultimately was not very convincing and seemed at odds with the rest of the quality cast. He also has *no* singing ability. A terrible attempt at musicality in his first song is then mercifully replaced by William Shatner-esque talking for the rest of the show. He almost gets away with it, but for me it spoiled one of my favourite songs, the powerful "Duel Duet". Ben Kerr as Brad is singing his heart out and Little is just completely unable to keep up with the melody or the complicated lyrics. It's a real shame and the only point at which the casting fails slightly.
In the finale, after the exuberant rendition of "Anyhow, Anyhow" and well-deserved applause for the band, we were treated to the sight of the entire cast returning to the front in little black dresses for one last reprise. Their enthusiastic can-canning caused Betsy to remark "Well, I never expected to see Joe Mangel's junk tonight...". Oh, and suddenly I was pulled up on stage to dance with another member of the audience! The perils of sitting in the front row I guess!
The most important thing to realise about Shock Treatment is that it's just a huge amount of fun. It's camp, it's sexy and just a little bit naughty. The cast are clearly having a ball and the audience are made to feel a real part of the overall experience. Many people were obvious fans and were happily singing along. But even if you have no knowledge of the show's history, I dare you not to leave with a huge grin on your face and those endlessly catchy songs reverberating round in your head.
One final note - the images I could find to post here are mainly promo shots, so don't really show off the excellent costumes and makeup work.
The show is running until 6th June 2015. I'd really recommend it for a fantastic night out.
Tickets and details for the King's Head Theatre can be found here
"So look out Mister, don't you blow your last resistor for a sister that'll certify ya..."
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