By Angela Singer. Pictures by David Freeman
He’s the very Sweet Transvestite from Tottenham. Stephen Webb who plays Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Show, coming to Cambridge Corn Exchange this month, says he welcomes the heckles. He thinks they are funny.
He says: “There are loads of shouts throughout the show. The audience are very much part of the show. They are almost another character. I’ve heard pretty much all of them now, so they don’t tend to catch me out. When I’m talking to Rocky when he first comes out, there are a few shouts that are quite rude and I love them. I think they are funny.”
Stephen describes his character as a “lovable psychopath” and he takes a delight in playing him but he stamps his own personality onto him. “The director Christopher Luscombe said: “We don’t want you to do an impersonation of Tim Curry, we want to see your own version.”
London born Stephen, who trained at the Italia Conti, plays Frank as American. “I play Frank using an American accent. Obviously, Frank’s costume is quite feminine, so I do inject an element of masculinity into my performance. My take on it is a little bit rough round the edges. The audience has mixed feelings about Frank which I love. He is a lovable psychopath. Because the character was written during the 70s glam rock era, I take inspiration from David Bowie, T Rex and Queen. But I always find something new every performance, which makes playing this role so exciting.”
He added: “It doesn’t matter if I’ve had the worst day in the world, it goes away as soon as I am on stage. There’s a big drum beat before I enter and I’ve got this big old cloak on. I walk down centre stage and sing Sweet Transvestite, whip off my cloak and reveal my crazy costume. The audience goes absolutely berserk for it.”
It’s not the heels that trouble Stephen, he says. “It’s actually wearing the black corset because it doesn’t give. I make sure I eat at the right time, otherwise I struggle throughout the show.” His favourite piece of costume is the red corset for the finale. “I absolutely love it. It fits me like a glove. It changes colour, if you push it up, it goes black, it you push it down, it goes red.”
But the one piece of costume he says he would like to keep is the leather jacket with tassels on. “I’m a motorcyclist so I would love to wear it on my bike.”
Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show began in 1973 in London at The Royal Court Upstairs. Since then, some 30 million people have seen it in 30 countries. The extravagant musical with the catchiest songs, circles round a wholesome, young engaged couple, Brad and Janet whose car breaks down near a castle where a mad transvestite scientist is about to release his latest creation – a big, muscle-bound man called Rocky. The songs Time Warp and Sweet Transvestite have become anthems. This is a show where a lot of the audience will arrive dressed as the characters on stage. As Stephen says, the show “has a lot of heart. It’s extremely funny and it allows people to be part of it. It’s a brilliant night out where everyone can be who they want to be.”
The Rocky Horror Show will be at Cambridge Corn Exchange from Monday, April 27 to Saturday, May 2 as part of a national tour.
