THE NEW ROCKY HORROR SHOW, The Lyric Theatre Academy for Performing Arts Be warned, they are among us and, despite the name, have nothing whatsoever to do with any trade mission from eastern Europe - they are the sweet transvestites from Transylvania, New South Wales, and they are simulating all kinds of sex acts at a theatre near you. Nigel Triffitt's The New Rocky Horror Show is an over-the-top, all singing, all dancing party, a glittering romp of fin de siecle decadence we have all been waiting for. When 1.8-metre Dale Ryder as Frank 'N' Furter came strutting on stage in 15-centimetre heels, fishnet tights and bustier, the audience went wild. A similar outburst greeted the entrance of ex-Australian Air Force megahunk Ron Reeve, weighing in at 112 kilograms, much of that lurking in his posing pouch. And if that was not enough there was the grand finale in which Hong Kong radio and TV personality Harry Wong, caught up in the cross-dressing frenzy, ripped off his trousers to join the cast in a leggy line-up of fishnet and stiletto heels. The balloons rained down, the crowd yelled out for Time Warp, and they got it, the show ending with the entire audience jumping to the left and stepping to the right. Luckily the show has not warped with time although it remains deliciously bent. For some the Time Warp was real enough - memories of Chelsea, London circa 1970s when author Richard O'Brian played the first Riff Raff at the Royal Court and when hair was worn long and there was no need to carry a condom in your back pocket. The pre-AIDS joy in sex that was the hallmark of its time is still very much a part of the show. To Triffitt's credit AIDS awareness has been given its place. In a hilarious scene, Frank, having just seduced Brad, tugs off a condom to the sound of an amplified slurp. If you have not seen the original or the film then you will not know the plot tells how Brad and Janet, two squeaky-clean white American kids, have a breakdown in a storm and walk to the nearest dwelling to get to a phone. They end up knocking on the door of Frankenstein's Castle where the inhabitants are sex-crazed aliens. Brad and Janet are seduced and in the end the castle, which is really a space ship, blasts back off into space. The set was magical, the costumes outrageous, the singing and dancing full of raw Aussie energy. Wong's bilingual narration was smooth and easy. There were some rough edges - the rocket firing on one cylinder, a Rocky who could not sing - but any faults were swamped in the glory of the overall excess. After Brad hears of Janet's infidelity he asks narrator Wong, 'Is it all over?' to which Wong replies: 'No, it can't be all over, it isn't July 1 yet is it?' This brought the house down.
