Rocky Horror Show star Kristian Lavercombe has done the time warp again… and again… and again.
In fact, he has taken a jump to the left, then a step to the right more than 2,000 times as the eccentric Riff Raff in the hit musical which arrives at His Majesty’s Theatre next week.
“It will probably be around 2,030 times by the time I come to Aberdeen – which is a lot now,” said Kristian, who holds the world record for performing in the show more than anyone else in its 49-year-history.
But for all the New Zealander has been touring almost non-stop with the show for some 10 years, he still loves every minute he spends with the sweet transvestite from Transylvania.
Kristian never gets tired of Riff Raff or The Rocky Horror Show
“I don’t get tired of Riff Raff, I don’t get tired of Rocky Horror,” said Kristian, who was born in Wales before his family emigrated.
“And, of course, with Rocky Horror, the audience make it so much fun for us, because they are an extra character in the show and a very unpredictable character.
“That makes the show completely different every night and I’m not sure you get that with other shows – they don’t have that from the crazy audiences.”
Rocky Horror is well-known, some might argue notorious, for the level of fan feedback during performances, with lines and phrases being shouted out.
Although antics of the early days – when rice was thrown around and water pistols being fired in the air – have been toned down, said Kristian.
“There used to be water pistols in the rain scene, but that’s stopped now because we’re wearing thousands of pounds worth of electrical equipment and water doesn’t really agree with that,” he said.
Hard to find people who aren’t dressed up for Rocky Horror
“But there are still things, like during There’s A Light when I look out of the castle on my first entrance and there are literally hundreds of people waving the lights on their phone. But mostly these days it is the call outs – in between lines, hopefully, not over the top of us.”
One thing that remains unchanged for Rocky Horror fans is dressing up to go to the show, from Frank N Furter’s to French maids, Riff Raffs, to Rocky.
“Sometimes, especially at a weekend, you look out there and it’s hard to find people who aren’t dressed up. It’s so weird, looking out and seeing all the characters on stage looking back at you, watching.”
Kristian, who first started as Riff Raff on a New Zealand tour of Rocky Horror, says living with the character means sometimes the lines between him and the character can blur.
“You get to a point with anything you do lots of times, like driving a car, when you’re not actually aware of how you are doing it. You’re not thinking about changing gear or braking, it’s part of you and just happens,” he said.
“I think the same has occurred with me and Riff Raff because he’s just there, he’s part of me.”
How playing Riff Raff takes a physical toll on Kristian Lavercombe
That has even manifested itself physically, said Kristian, who hunches his way through the role on stage.
He recently went for a body scan that measured his body density, bone mass and musculature.
“The person taking the scans said: ‘oh, I see you’ve injured yourself on one side’.
“I said: “I’ve never injured myself on one side… oh, but I do pretend to be hunchbacked every single night’.
“But I guess if you’re doing that every single night, then slowly your body changes. So slowly I am turning into Riff Raff. Eventually, you’ll see me walking down the street and I’ll just be hobbling away like him.”
The actor – who has also played Frank N Furter and Brad Majors in the show – said the appeal of Riff Raff is down to his love of old sci-fi and horror films with their cast of ex-Shakespearean and theatre thespians pulling out all the stops on the acting front.
How to get tickets to see The Rocky Horror Show at His Majesty’s
“Everything had high stakes, everything was really dramatic, and I think Rocky Horror follows those rules,” he said.
“It’s all over the top and even the smallest of things has the highest of stakes and that’s what makes it, that’s what gives it its campness and makes it appealing. It’s that kind of a character which for me as an actor is fun to play.”
Kristian, who has worked with around 11 Frank N Furters in his time, hopes the audience at His Majesty’s will have just as much fun as him when he returns to Aberdeen, starring alongside Ore Oduba as Brad Majors.
“Just come along and have a good time. In this day and age when there are so many serious things about, it’s great that Rocky Horror continues to be this little oasis of fun in people’s lives.”
The Rocky Horror Show is at His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen from Monday April 25 to Saturday April 30. For information and tickets go to aberdeenperformingarts.com