Let’s do the Time Warp again!!

I re-visited my youth in Saigon last night and enjoyed every minute of it! 

I was only eight when Richard O’Brien wrote the Rocky Horror Show and too young to be aware of the film adaptation when it was released a couple of years later.  By the time I went to university, however, I was ready to embrace the cult the show had become!  The first stage production of the show I saw was at the Wythenshawe Theatre in Manchester in 1984.  I was blown away by the theatricality and spectacle, both on the stage and in the audience, as fans had come along dressed as their favourite character.  During my university years, I probably saw the show ten times at different locations and in various guises.  I also went to many screenings of the film.  I never went the whole hog when it came to the dressing up, but I loved the show and have many happy memories of those days.

In the intervening years, I have seen the show and the film from time to time and have never passed up the opportunity to spend an evening with Rocky Horror!  Such an opportunity presented itself last night when a new theatre group, The Lab, put on the show as their inaugural production.



The cast on the steps of Bon Mua Restaurant

The venue was the Bon Mua Restaurant on the banks of the river in District 2, Saigon.  A group of seventeen of us from EIU, some of whom had made an effort with their costumes, went along, and a good time was had by all!!  The organisers had done a great job of transforming the central part of the restaurant into a stage and making the audience a part of the show.  The cast were superb, particularly Allistair Quirke, who shone as Frank-n-Furter, and Jacqui Gaynor who took on the role of Magenta as well as being the musical director-producer.  A highlight had to be an ‘only in Vietnam’ moment at the beginning of the show when a live bat flew through the restaurant just as Janet and Brad were being shown into Frank-n-Furter’s house!  Spooky!!



The music, the choreography, the sense of fun, the fantastic performances and the food and cocktails served before the performance and during the interval all made for an enjoyable evening.  I’ll put it down as another memorable performance of one of my favourite musicals, with extra points for the exotic location!  It’s a far cry from Wythenshawe!!


Lucy and Mel getting into the spirit!

Kristina joining in with the Time Warp encore!