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Decadence we've been waiting for

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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.

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