Rocky Horror celebrates 50 years with a ripper production in Darwin!
Well, what a delightful experience to see the CDU Theatre at Casuarina being opened up to the General Public with such a marvellous historical production. Paolo Fabris really showcases a truckload of Territory talent in this show and his Directorial skill shines through in fine performances. Could this be the start of a Musical Theatre course at CDU; let's hope so!
Dear reader I must confess that the film of Rocky Horror is one of my favourites and I was really not sure what to expect from this show here in 2025 in Darwin. I was utterly thrilled and the small audience present with me at the Tech Rehearsal were very vocal in their praise and applause after the show. There were some very minor technical issues on this performance but I am confident that the crew and cast would have them well sorted for the season ahead.
The lighting by Angus Robson was spectacular and lit the beautifully constructed set, which Glen Jarvis really showed his skill to make robust, movable and very pretty! Robson has a glorious flex of his Lighting prowess with this show and it makes a real showcase of the Theatre's impressive new lights! It also shows why he is the perfect person to teach the Cert IV in Live Production. This whole production was a real coming together of the CDU Arts department with many Lecturers involved behind the scenes. Kailan O'Dell came up with a lively interpretation of the score, which while ebullient was kept at a level where the dialogue and singing was clearly audible with some masterful Sound operation by Peter Colautti.
I understand that I am probably writing this whole thing backwards and what y'all are desperate to know about is the acting and singing! Let me say straight off the bat, what a beautifully crafted piece this is. The mechanism of an onstage band and four part choir as well as the four phantoms give the music a delightfully full sound! The Phantoms really fully committed and they actually appeared almost ethereal in their movements, a real credit to Molly )'Hagan's choreography. I was not sure how they were going to work when I heard they were going to be in the production but the end result was surprisingly effective. Swahnya De Almedia, has been a prolific performer this year on either side of some excellent technical roles, was my favourite Phantom, although they all did a great job and worked well as a unit.
All the principal parts conducted themselves well with the real highlights for me being Kamaron Arthur as Frankenfurter, who really fully inhabited that persona and the rollercoaster emotions that the character goes through in this musical. I felt the end especially was very strong and I am sure the season will see a lot of tears in the audience. Yomka Yan was a loveable Columbia and elicited much excitement from the audience the night Ifirst saw the show. Janet Weiss has some of my most cherished singing parts in the film and Susan Sarandon is a hard act to follow: what an utter treat to have Rachel Wharam utterly nail the part, including some devastatingly, cleanly delivered soprano magnificence. Wow!
Finally I'd like to congratulate Scott Boyle on his Rocky. It was a fun interpretation that really worked, his emotional journey was credible. I wish Richard O'Brien was able to see this production of his seminal work as I think he would be well and truly pleased by the Darwin interpretation and we have a bunch of musicians, techs and performers who really brought their A game to this production. An utterly satisfying night of musical theatre!
Nimal Jayawardhana, November 19, 2025.
The show closes on the 23rd November so get in quick as this show is definitely good enough to sell out! There is even a midnight performance on Friday!
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posted by Nim @ 1:37 PM
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