Page 38 - 2018 Festival Edition

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Let our hair down and enjoy
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THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW
ABILITY CHOICE FREEWILL OPPORTUNITY LIBERTY RELEASE REDEMPTION ABILITY CHOICE FREEWILL OPPORTUNITY LIBERTY RELEASE REDEMPTION
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JONATHAN JUHA
Sta Reporter
If you ever felt like “breaking" some of the rules during a production
at the Stratford Festival, this year might be your chance to do so.
In fact, if you are planning to attend one of the performances of the iconic Rocky Horror Show this season, Stratford Festival sta will actually encour- age you to do it.
A musical that has become a cult around the world, the Rocky Horror Show, aside from its unique exploration of themes around sexuality and identity, is probably best known for its interactive elements and audience participation.
From dancing along with the actors to calling out to the narrator to dressing sexy for the show, the play allows virgins - people who have never seen the show before - and veterans to enjoy theatre in a di erent way.
And the Stratford Festival is joining the party. “The Rocky Horror Showing, in particular, is really an opportunity for us to really expose new audienc- es to all that the Stratford Festival has to o er,” said Sarah Hamza, director of audience development with the Stratford Festival.
“We are sort of used to dark theatres and pretty high expectations as to how an audience will be- have, and that’s certainly changing over time. And the Rocky Horror Show has always been an exemp- tion to that and it is a production that comes with its own special fun, but this is really an opportunity for people, and us, to let our hair down and enjoy.”
Sta are promising a completely new experience from the moment you walk into the Avon Theatre. Don’t expect a bright, well-lit lobby, for instance;
instead, enjoy a cosier, darker atmosphere.
Feel free to take a selfie or two at one of the sta-
tions set up by sta or to drink a specialty cocktail after the presentation.
And during the show, just enjoy yourself.
But if you are still not sure what to expect, the Festival is also there for you, Hamza said.
“We really wanted to make the show very acces- sible to those who have never seen it before, so we created a lot of how-to moments and things to help them out,” she said.
Among those are explanations on the Stratford Festival’s website, social media channels and more about what typically happens during the show, so people can join the fun.
The Festival has also put together some kits, bet- ter known as the “participation” kits, which people can purchase; they include props and other items audiences can use during the show to enhance their experience, though people are more than welcome to bring their own, Hamza said.
Having the safety of the performers in mind, throwing things like rice at the stage - part of the movie tradition - are the only interactive elements associated with the show people won’t be allowed to do.
“That is one aspect that is OK in a movie house but that is not OK in a live performance, and that’s obviously because of the safety of the actors and dancers,” Hamza said. “But aside from throwing things at the stage, everything else goes, and people will be able to do all the fun things they want to do as part of the show.”
But the experience doesn’t end there.
In fact, local businesses and restaurants will be playing along and working with the Festival to allow locals and visitors to experience the city in a new way.
“We are going to be creating an extra-special Rocky experience, which is going to be a unique way to show Stratford restaurants and retail stores,” explained April Murray, partnership co-ordinator at the Stratford Tourism Alliance.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity to create community
synergy around the current playbill in an unex- pected style, while engaging, as we hope, some new audiences.
“We want with this experience to shake o the conventional and for it to be a chance for Stratford to be edgy and fun in line with the show.”
To do just that, the tourism alliance has created a guide inspired by one of the play’s main characters, Frank N. Furter, the “mad scientist” whose main purpose is to create the perfect man capable of pleasing all of his sexual desires.
continued on page 39
SAYER ROBERTS AS BRAD AND JENNIFER RIDER-SHAW AS JANET IN THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW. PHOTO BY CYLLA VON TIEDEMANN.
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PAGE 38
THE BEACON HERALD | 2018 FESTIVAL EDITION