Richard O’Brien has always seen his seminal, naughty musical The Rocky Horror Show as “just a piece of silly nonsense”. That’s what he thought when, as an unemployed actor in the early ’70s, he created “sweet transvestite” Dr Frank-N-Furter and his crew of glorious misfits.
It’s what he thought when, 50 years ago this June, Tim Curry stepped into the lead role and the stage show became a hit. He still believed it when the movie version – The Rocky Horror Picture Show, starring O’Brien, Curry and a young Susan Sarandon – became the longest-running cinema release of all time. It’s what he told curious fans, reporters, and pop historians over the decades as the show cemented its place as the cultiest of cult hits.
This has, of course, put him at odds with fans and critics alike. Shockingly ahead of its time, tackled the hottest-button topics of 2023… back in the early ’70s. Sexuality and sex positivity, gender identity, sexism, toxic masculinity – many of the subjects that fuel today’s ever-raging culture wars – it’s all in there, served up with a wink. It’s no surprise then, that generations of young LGBT+
