The writer and creator of The Rocky Horror Picture Show has said he does not think the show could be made today because “we have to be careful that we don’t upset people”.
The musical follows Brad and his fiancee Janet as they happen across a gothic looking mansion after their car breaks down.
They meet the head of the house Dr Frank’n’Furter, a self-proclaimed ‘sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania”, and the couple watch on as he creates a man called Rocky in his laboratory.
The show is marking 50 years on stage and has been in continuous production since it opened at London’s Royal Court Theatre in 1973.
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O’Brien (81), says the musical, which was adapted for film in 1975 with Tim Curry in the role of Frank’n’Furter, has become a “family favourite”, but was written and staged at a time when creatives had few constraints.
O’Brien says: “We weren’t constrained or confined in any manner when we were making Rocky.
“We made it the way we wanted to make it without anybody looking over our shoulders or even second guessing ourselves.
“But today, there are different areas we have to be careful that we don’t upset people for different reasons.
“It is what it is of the time and thankfully, it’s been able to carry on, but I don’t know whether we could make it today truthfully. I guess it’s difficult. We will never know, will we?”
Discussing the difficulties of being a creative today, O’Brien says: “It’s very difficult to find your own voice and become creative if someone’s looking over your shoulder and second-guessing you and saying ‘oh no, you can’t do that. You can’t do that.’
“Good taste should be there but we should even be able to push good taste to one side from time to time and get a little dirty.
“I was watching some colourised film, before the Hays Code in America [a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of movies] and one thing that was astonishing was how sexualised the women were in everything and how we took that for granted.
“The girls back in the early 60s, the girls would have loved to have been a Bond girl, but today, would a girl want to love to be a Bond girl? I think not.
“You see, times have changed, but it’s a very short period ago. It’s not long ago.”
The Rocky Horror Show has been seen by about 30 million people worldwide in 30 different countries and O’Brien thinks that it has become a mainstay for theatre goers in the UK and worldwide.
Describing the show as “pantomime”, O’Brien says: “It’s very British in many ways.
“It’s not a million miles away from a British panto if you think about it. It’s not a million miles away from the Carry On movies ... It’s got a seaside postcard kind of feel to it, which is very British as well.
“I think it’s become a little bit like a Punch and Judy show in many ways.
“It’s become a kind of family favourite, which is very odd as well when you think about the subject matter we deal with but it’s like a friendly old slipper.
“It’s a much loved little comedy that will always make you smile. It’s very bizarre, isn’t it? Because it is subversive, it deals with issues that could be a bit you know, out there, but strangely, it has a very happy kind of feel about it. It’s like a national treasure in many ways.”
In 1975, the musical was turned into a film starring Susan Sarandon as Janet, Tim Curry as Frank’n’Furter and singer Meat Loaf as biker, Eddie.
Shot in Oakley Court, Windsor, the film became a hit as a midnight movie, with audiences dressing up in costume and talking back to the screen.
O’Brien is also known for presenting TV show The Crystal Maze and has written several other musicals including T Zee (1976) and The Stripper (1982).
The Rocky Horror Show is playing a newly extended tour through 2023, celebrating its 50th anniversary on stage. – PA
