JADAR

Ahead of The Rocky Horror Show returning to Manchester, we sat down with Laura Bird, who plays Magenta and the Usherette.

The Rocky Horror Show has been running in some form for 50 years. What do you think keeps this show pulling people in, generation after generation?

“It’s a really special year for Rocky Horror. We’ve just come out of the 50th anniversary of the film so the film has a huge part to play in that. It’s one of those that gets run on TV a lot, and like you said, your sister introduced you to the production. I think people’s friends and family pass it down and pass it on, and once you’ve seen it once, you’ll keep coming back and bring a new person with you every time.

“At its core, it’s just a show about celebrating being different, being yourself, and the fluidity around gender and how we dress. Just being really playful with clothing and makeup, and taking inspiration, like Frank does, from the films or music you like. That really resonates not just with people who love the film from the 70s. We’ve got a new fan group of teenagers who seem to have found the show and the film for the first time, and they’re now coming to see us. That’s really nice.”

I completely agree, it just stays with you through the years and comes back. As you said, this is a space where people feel free to express themselves, the LGBTQ+ community, the younger generation. What does it mean to you to be part of a show that carries such a legacy, a place where people can be whoever they want to be?

“It’s pretty much a given working in theatre but I consider myself a huge ally for LGBTQ+ communities. Most of my friends are gay, and I’m part of this theatrical community, so it’s really special to be able to get up there and deliver a show that I’m super proud of the message behind.

“Adult themes aside, I’ve got nieces and nephews, and they’re all really interested in theatre and they love it. I’m proud to be able to perform a show like this to them, to have my little nephew look at Frank and think, ‘Wow, that’s a powerful leading man.; He’s wearing a feather boa and glittery eyeshadow, and that’s what a strong man looks like, just the same as whichever Marvel hero he loves. To see this full spectrum of gender and identity, and appreciate strong people for strong people, that’s really special to me.

“And the fans, as well. It attracts such a special fan group. They’re so loyal to the show. We’ve got fans who come to almost every single venue, and they really support us as a company. As a newcomer this time around, I’ve been really blown away by that. We’ve got regular faces we’ll see at stage door, or we’ll get messages from, and they almost feel like a real extended part of our company because they’re there night on night doing the shout-outs for us and really adding that element of fun to the show. It’s a really special thing to be a part of.”

Picking up on what you said about your nephew coming to see the show, do you have a memory of the first time you came across The Rocky Horror Show, either the film or the theatre production? What did you feel back then, and how has that evolved with you now being part of it?

“I think you always remember the first time you watched the film, particularly that moment when Frank-N-Furter comes down in the elevator and makes that first entrance and starts to sing ‘Sweet Transvestite’. You just think, ‘Wow, what is this?’ You start the film thinking you know what it’s going to be. We’re all familiar with the car breaking down, and that’s a very common trope used in a lot of science fiction films. There’s a reason Richard O’Brien starts off the film that way, and it borrows a lot from all sorts of B-movies from the time.

“But Tim Curry’s entrance, and that whole number, you just think, ‘Right, this is different. This is special.’ You can’t take your eyes off him. That’s a performance that really stays with you. From then on, it’s just been a rewatch and a rewatch. It’s a real comfort thing for a lot of people, I think. There’s a reason it’s a cult classic. So, any chance to do the stage version, I was always going to be first in line. I’ve wanted to do this show for a long time.”

Magenta has been played by so many performers since Patricia Quinn in the film. When you were building your version, what did you want to keep from her, and what did you make entirely yours?

“It’s been a really fun process. I try not to fully find my version of the character until almost we open, to be honest, because I knew she was going to have to work really well with whoever was playing Riff Raff. You need time to find that chemistry together, because you do just come as a pair. In this production, in particular, you really have to be a unit with your Riff Raff, your siblings, and you work as a pair.

“I wanted things to be very physically synchronised, for us to have a way of moving together, and to really find that together. Ryan, who plays Riff Raff, we were lucky that we found that really quickly, and we work really well as a team. So, my character wasn’t fully formed until we’d had that time together to gel and get to know each other as people as well as on stage, and find our characters together.

“In terms of being inspired by, you can’t help but be inspired by Patricia Quinn. She’s such an icon. I try to be informed by her smoky vocal quality, particularly when speaking. I’m very conscious to borrow a lot of her smokiness to make Magenta really different to the Usherette, because I play the Usherette as well. She sits really up here vocally. She’s very American and twangy, and everything’s up here. I really want Magenta to live in the depths of where my voice can go.

“She has this amazing watchability that comes from a sort of lack of urgency. In every command she has, she’s very unbothered, very much, ‘I’ll do it, and I’ll do what I’m told, but I’ll do it on my terms and at my pace.’ I’ve tried to take a bit of that into my version of Magenta. I’ll follow orders from Frank but I’m going to do it in my own way.

You have a long experience playing characters like Rizzo, Elle Woods, Killer Queen, an incredible mix of bold, funny, iconic women. What does Magenta let you do that none of those other roles did? What part of yourself can you express?

“Being honest, a big part of Rocky Horror is finding power in your sexuality. A lot of the characters encounter sexuality throughout the show in different ways, and they have different journeys with it. Very early on in rehearsals, we established that a lot of Magenta’s power is with her sexuality.

“I’ve never really played a character like that before, and it can be quite an intimidating challenge as an actor. Depending on your personality, sometimes you play characters that are quite similar to you, and sometimes you play characters that are a bit more of a stretch. They’re tapping into something you might not get to tap into in your day-to-day life.

“It’s been really empowering for me as a woman to play this character who’s really self-assured, who’s very alluring in a way, and uses her sexuality to operate in the world, uses that as her power. You’ve probably seen the kinds of costumes we wear. It feels very brave, and it feels like a very affirming person to be inhabiting eight times a week. I feel very strong as a result, I think.”

The audience is a big part of the show, the shout-outs, the costumes, the singing. How do you prepare to deal with it? Obviously you have the rehearsals, the music, the dancing, but do you have a parallel or special preparation for how to respond to the interaction with the audience, or does it come more naturally?

“We do actually have a specific rehearsal. Chris Luscombe, our director, puts in a session deliberately for us. We sit with our scripts and, line-by-line, we go through and write in the most popular shout-outs, the common ones that, certainly in the UK, we’re used to getting. So, we sort of know where, if we’re likely to need to take a pause after a line, or something’s coming in around one of your lines, you’re prepared to hear that.

“Beyond that, you can’t really prepare. We had those written in but that was as far as it went in rehearsals. We didn’t have anyone shouting at us in rehearsals. It was just, ‘Prepare the show as if you’re going to get nothing, and then opening night, just see what you get.’ You really do have to have one ear on the audience and one ear on whatever’s going on on stage. You have to be in two places at once.

“My character technically can’t hear the audience, and that’s the same for most of the characters. Frank is the only one apart from the Narrator who officially can hear the shout-outs, and he’s allowed to give a little nod to the audience and respond. If not directly, he can do a subtle nod or a wink to indicate that he’s heard. But everyone else, as much as we do need to listen, we can’t technically hear the audience.

“So, it’s a real juggling job. Keeping aware of pacing yourself and pacing your lines for little laugh breaks, or if something’s happening in the audience and people are playing with each other, versus just keeping the pace of the show. But it’s all been designed very cleverly. The bulk of the shout-outs happen in Act One, and it’s a bit more of a party atmosphere. Once you get into the real story in Act Two, it does calm down a little bit, and by the final scene, we’ve brought you back to the narrative.

“There are surprises every night, and everywhere you go there’s different shout-outs. If something’s happened in the news, or if there’s a particular name that week that’s popped up, people will shout that out. But I think Jackie and Nathan, our narrators, are the ones who get the brunt of it, to be honest.”

Finally, what do you hope someone who walks out of the Palace Theatre in Manchester later this month will be feeling, whether it’s their first Rocky Horror or their fiftieth?

“Honestly, I hope just feeling joy, and feeling empowered. I’d encourage everyone to dress up as much as they’re comfortable with, and just really go with the flow. It’s a really special production to be a part of, and you can’t help but leave with a smile on your face. If you’ve stood up and done the ‘Time Warp’ and had an amazing time then we can’t ask for anything else. Hopefully, you’ll walk out and you’ll already be planning your next visit whenever the show comes around again.”

The Rocky Horror Show tours the UK until August 1, finishing off at Palace Theatre Manchester from July 27 to August 1.

Photo: David Freeman