Rocky at Forty: Oliver Thornton plays Frank ‘N ‘Furter

I understand that you’ve
had a very varied stage career, including a long stint in drag,
haven’t you?
Well, yes. I’ve done Les
Miserables, Chicago, Rent
Remixed and Phantom in the West End and
Starlight Express on tour, but I also did
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert for three years as
well. Can you believe that?

So you’re no stranger to
appearing on stage in lingerie then!

No. I vowed, when I finished
Priscilla, that I was going to go into something
very serious and not put the fishnets and heels back on – but I got
offered the role and I just couldn’t say no. I just felt I had to
do it. It really has such a draw.

I have to say that I really surprised
myself because I very much like my home comforts and the thought of
going out on such a huge tour terrified me but, again, the draw of
Frank pulled me out of that comfort zone as well. I think it’s just
one of those roles that, if you are lucky enough to get offered it,
you just have to say yes.

And, of course, you’re
following in some mighty footsteps!

Oh no, please don’t say the “T”
word!

Well, I wasn’t just
thinking of Tim Curry, but David Badella has had the part for a
while now as well.

Yes, he did it for four years. I went
to see him doing it and he was just superb. I suppose that the thing
is, I mean, of course I’m completely terrified – who wouldn’t
be – but I really believe in Chris Luscombe, our director. I
think he is just fantastic.

When I met him, after he called me to
ask if I would be interested in doing it, I knew after just five
minutes of being with Chris that I would be in good hands. He’s
fantastic and I really respect the fact that he’s taking it
seriously as well because I think that it’s what this show needs.

It’s for the audience to enjoy but
for us to – kind of – take seriously, in terms of telling the
story and all of those things that come with putting on a good
production. So I trust that he saw something in me to make him think
I could do it and I trust that it will be a fantastic version of the
show and I’ll do my very best to do it justice.

Chris’s last two
productions – Dandy Dick and Blue/Orange
– were just spectacular.

I went to see his production of
Spamalot this week and it’s a great show, but
the thing that I loved so much about it was that the direction was so
efficient. There was nothing in there where you felt like maybe they
didn’t know what they were doing. It was all so clear.

Everything
was “bang on the money” and I think that’s where he really
succeeds. There’s nothing in there that you, as an audience member,
might feel was lost. Chris has got a really clear vision and
that’s what we need as actors. We need the director to come to the
table with a really strong vision of what he thinks, and what he
wants, and then we create it around that.

So, you’re not worried
about popping the high heels back on again then?

Well, after three years it’s nothing
new to me so I’m giving Ben Forster (Brad) lots of lessons. When
I first did Priscilla, I was completed terrified
about wearing them. I had never ever done any form of… well
actually Rocky Horror isn’t drag, whereas
Priscilla is much more along those lines. I had
never put on high heels or lingerie or any of that, but I have to say
that I think it stood me in good stead. I feel a lot more confident
about doing it.

I am a little concerned
that, as someone is going to spend the entire production in lingerie,
you don’t regard this as drag!

I think the thing is that they are two
different things. In Priscilla the part is much
more of a “showgirl” and was drag in a very traditional
Australian sense. It was a different thing because it was more about
wanting to look like a woman with very feminine gestures, those kinds
of things, whereas I think Frank is much more sexually ambiguous and
I think that is incredibly important.

I think if you approached it thinking
this is a man who, for instance, wants to be Kylie Minogue as my
character was in Priscilla, then that would be
completely the wrong direction to go.