Writer, actor, presenter and all-round enigma Richard O’Brien brought the world The Rocky Horror Show back in the 1970s and the world is still grateful.

Here author Richard O'Brien talks dressing up, audience participation and his inspiration.

You narrated the show during its 40th anniversary last year but played Riff Raff originally – how was that?

I was probably too young to play the narrator back then. Every piece of dialogue was based upon Edgar Lustgarten (who presented the crime series Scotland Yard and the Scales of Justice in the 1950s and 1960s). He had a sonorous voice and looked like a bulldog!

Is the narrator a key role?

It’s fascinating, actually – people from all over the shop have done it. Even the Prime Minister of New Zealand. They can have an interaction with the audience. I come out these days and it’s rather different. If you wanted them to shut up, I could do it more easily than some, though. I have a different relationship with the audience.

Are you tempted to ad lib, or do the audience want it exactly as it was?

That’s probably something you have to do a little bit, although because I’m the author I don’t really have to. I keep the ad libs exceptionally short.

Do you ever watch the show now and see things you could improve or wish you could change?

Yes, there are a couple of songs where I wish I’d written something else. Brad sings a verse which to me made sense then, but looking at it I haven’t transferred the sense to the present-day listener. But nobody seems to care.

What do you think of the audience dressing up?

I love it because it means the show starts before people leave home. They finish work and they get home and start to get themselves ready. By the time the show starts they are raring to go. They’re a wonderful audience – they want the show to be a success. They come with that great generosity of spirit. The energy in the audience is like nothing else. Everybody gets the best out of it.

There’s been a movement to try to get The Crystal Maze (which Richard presented on TV in the 1990s) going again. What do you think of that?

I wouldn’t want to be in it again. It was amazingly popular, but I didn’t want to be on television. I had friends who were on television and the public thought they
owned them. But nobody knew who I was. I had an anonymity
that wasn’t afforded them because they were on a small screen. I liked that.

You live in New Zealand now. Why did you move there?

My parents emigrated in 1951 when I was 10 – they lived and died here. I went back to England in 1964 but came back to live as it’s a lovely place. We have a beautiful spot here.

Do you still write or present much?

If something appeals to me, I do. But I don’t want to get out of bed unless it appeals to me. I did recently present a show called the DNA Detectives in New Zealand. I found that very interesting. I write poetry and songs just to please myself most of the time.

Rocky Horror is a musical: what are your favourite musicals?

I watched West Side Story only the other day. I think it is probably the best musical ever written. I like Guys and Dolls and My Fair Lady. I love a good musical.

THE SHOW

Grab your fishnets – The Rocky Horror Show is coming to town.

Penned by Richard O’Brien in the early 1970s, the world’s most popular rock’n’roll musical has inspired some racy outfits and plenty of raucous sing-alongs ever since. It’s not just de rigeur to dress up when you go to watch it at the theatre – it’s near compulsory!

Since it was first staged in June 1973, it has been performed in more than 30 countries and translated into more than 20 languages.

The latest production, produced by Howard Panter for the Ambassador Theatre Group, stars Liam Tamne, from the second series of The Voice, as Frank N. Furter with Kristian Lavercombe as Riff Raff, the role Richard played originally, and Norman Pace as the narrator.

A humorous tribute to the science fiction and horror B movies of the late 1940s through to the 1970s, The Rocky Horror Show is the story of Brad and his fiancée Janet, two squeaky-clean college kids who meet Dr Frank N. Furter when their car breaks down outside his house.

The high-energy show, which contains some rude bits, positively encourages audience participation, not least for the rip-roaring song The Time Warp.

THE DETAILS

The Rocky Horror Show is at Dartford’s Orchard Theatre from Monday, June 6, to Saturday, June 11. Tickets from £22, visit orchardtheatre.co.uk or call 01322 220000.

It will also be at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury from Monday, August 1, to Saturday, August 6. Tickets from £20, visit marlowetheatre.com or call 01227 787787.