| Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs | Milton Keynes Theatre 9 December 2005 - 22 January 2006 Various times. Box Office: 0870 060 6652(bkg fee) Starring: Richard O'Brien (Rocky Horror & Crystal Maze), Suzanne Shaw (Hear'Say), Toyah Willcox, Warwick Davies (Harry Potter) and Duncan Breeze (A Night at the Musicals). |
Richard O'Brien will be co-presenting the Milton Keynes Breakfast Show with Big George on Friday 6 January 2006 from 8.00am. Listen Live Online using the link on the Homepage. As the author of The Rocky Horror Show, the ultimate musical fairytale for grown-ups, Richard O'Brien has become something of a cultural icon. The stage show first opened at The Royal Court Theatre in 1973, with the film version, The Rocky Horror Picture Show following in 1975, with O'Brien himself playing manservant Riff Raff. With Rocky, he has inspired people all over the world to put aside their inhibitions and now, over 30 years later, fans still devotedly follow the production on its tours, dressed in stockings, suspenders and basques and hold Richard up as their hero. But O'Brien is a man of many talents. A writer, composer and actor, he has appeared in some 20 films and many will remember him dashing around the set of the legendary TV game show The Crystal Maze over a decade ago. He's even been a stuntman - spot him in the 1960s Bond spoof Casino Royale! Most recently he appeared as the Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Band Bang in the West End and when he's not performing he spends time fundraising for the Wallness Children's Charity of which he is a patron, hosting Transfandango Balls! You would think he has done and seen it all - but this Christmas, he will be doing something he has never done before - panto! We caught up with Richard as he rehearsed for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Milton Keynes Theatre where he told us how pantomime wasn't that far removed from Rocky - and all about the long awaited sequel! This is the first pantomime that you have ever appeared in. Why have you decided to do it? Richard: I heard a friend talking about his company producing pantos and I love the whole idea of it - but not the tacky end though!  | | Richard with Toyah - ready for panto! |
I love it. It's all about fairy tales and it's also the first bit of theatre that a child will probably see. When I think back to my childhood it was the first live theatre I saw and I remember how magical it was. The lights go down and the magic starts and it's a wonderful, fabulous journey. But in a way Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was a bit of panto so that was also part of the journey. I played the child catcher and it was terrific fun playing the baddie because kids love to be scared. It's not about being evil it's just supplying what they want! And Rocky Horror was a kind of panto and an adult fairy tale - it's Babes in the Wood really. So there's kind of a connection there as well. But I've no desire to do naturalism. I don't want to be on The Bill or play a bank manager. I like the make believe and the epic nature of it. What's the biggest challenge for you in this panto? Richard: Dancing with other people on the stage! I'm not terribly good at that. I'm OK if somebody says start there, do that journey and finish there. I can get away with that and people think that I'm dancing fabulously. But when we get into that choreography stuff I get clumsy! Will you be doing the Time Warp? Richard: Yes, I AM doing the Time Warp - they've worked it in! It's fits into Snow White does it?! Richard: [Laughs] Well it is a bit of a shoe horn but pantomime is quite forgiving - it's populist entertainment so you can get away with a lot. It has to be there though really doesn't it?! Richard: [Laughs] Apparently yes!! Will there be much improvisation on your part? Richard: No, there's not much room for it really. There's a lot of people on stage, a lot of parts and it's not a one man show. I don't go in for all that pretend corpsing and stuff. And you're playing the evil henchman, are you? Richard: No - I'm not anymore! We couldn't decide what henching was! I would take Snow White into the forest to kill her and then don't - that's not much of a part is it! So I'm now the Spirit of the Mirror! I'm Snow White's father who's been enslaved and put in the mirror by the Wicked Queen [Toyah]. So you're a goodie then? Richard: Yes - I'm a goodie! It's my first romantic lead! [laughs] I bring a bit of gravitas to the situation, I'm a king magician. And I've got a very elegant costume as well! As the creator of The Rocky Horror Show, you have brought a lot of pleasure to many people for over 30 years. How does it feel to be responsible for such a cultural phenomenon? Richard: I just think it's wonderful that something which was a bit of fun for five weeks still entertains today - it's just amazing. This year the Royal Court are celebrating 50 years during which time they've done some 800 plays. On their Website they asked the public to vote for their favourite Royal Court plays and The Rocky Horror Show came out at number 1 and that was against things like John Osborne's Look Back in Anger and Edward Bond's Saved - real heavyweight stuff. The fact that a piece of camp nonsense should come ahead of those is just astonishing. It must make you very proud? Richard: I don't like pride because pride comes before a fall, but it makes me very happy. And they've built a statue of you in New Zealand, where you grew up after moving from England?! Richard: Yes - I'm a bronze erection in Hamilton, New Zealand! It's one and a half times my size and it's beautiful and beautifully rendered. I was prepared to be delighted and pleased whatever but I really was astonished at how elegantly it was finished. It really is a work of wonder. I went over to see the 30th anniversary performance of Rocky Horror there and was sitting outside with my family when my sister said how do you feel. I said "What! After watching my show and sitting here looking at my statue. It doesn't get much better than that!" I understand that you've written a sequel to The Rocky Horror Show? Richard: Yes - I've done a version called Rocky Horror Rises. Rocky Horror is on tour next year with a new production so I will catch up with it somewhere and entice the performers to read the new one. Hopefully by then my writing partner Richard Hartley will have come up with some tunes for the songs and one evening after the show we'll put some microphones on the stage and get an audience in to see if it works - see if it's got any mileage, see if they laugh at the jokes and sing along with the songs. God! That will be a hot ticket!  | | The cast of Milton Keynes panto 2005 |
Richard: Yes - and maybe it will be it's only outing so that will be interesting in itself. You are a writer, actor, singer and quiz show host - what do you like to be known as? Richard: Writing lyrics is my favourite activity because I like playing with words and rhymes. It gives me great pleasure and I'm conceited enough to think I'm rather good at it! I enjoy acting and make believe but I can't bear to watch myself. Richard: I've got a huge ego but no vanity. I didn't want to be rich and famous, I just wanted to enjoy life and enjoy what I do. You've achieved so much, but is there anything that you still want to do? Richard: Yes. I always wanted to ride in an amateur flat race but I think I'm a bit too old now. I would also have loved to have done the Cresta Run. But these are not "if onlys". I have a lovely privileged life and I greatly appreciate what I've got. What do you think of Milton Keynes so far? Richard: Well - I've only been there for a few hours so far but it reminds me of something from the Stepford Wives. There's a sort of unworldly, alien feel to it. I can imagine the Stepford Wives walking down the road or the Midwich Cuckoos coming round the corner! Finally, why do you think people should come and see Snow White at the Milton Keynes Theatre? An entertainment at Christmas is always lovely. The lights go down, the music comes up and it's wonderful. And I've seen the pictures of the set and the design and it looks beautiful - fabulous! There's only one man in Suzanne Shaw's life at the moment - and Seven Dwarfs! She tells Katy Lewis how she's taken to motherhood and is looking forward to panto in Milton Keynes!
Shaw looking forward to panto! > | 
