Kristian Lavercombe is a Welsh-born actor and singer best known for playing Riff Raff in over 2600 performances of The Rocky Horror Show . [1] Described by the show's writer Richard O'Brien as "a fantastically talented Riff Raff", [2] Lavercombe's interpretation of the role has variously been described as "deliciously sleazy", [3] "simply perfection" [4] and "consistently the most watchable thing on stage throughout". [5]
Originally from Neath in South Wales and the son of Gerald Lavercombe and Janice (née Cook), [6] Lavercombe attended Nayland College and trained at the National Academy of Singing and Dramatic Art in New Zealand; an early role was playing Frank 'n' Furter in Rocky Horror in New Zealand. [7]
Lavercombe has performed as Riff Raff in The Rocky Horror Show over 2,000 times including during the International Tour (2010); the Australian Tour (2014–2015); the UK's 40th Anniversary Tour (2015); during a West End live cinema broadcast in 2015 with Richard O'Brien, the show's writer; the 2016 UK Tour, the Australian Tour (2018), the UK Tour (2018-2019), the South African Tour (2019-2020) and the current UK and World Tour (2021-2022) [8] [9]
In addition to Riff Raff, Lavercombe has had leading roles in over 30 professional productions including Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar (2014) for the Auckland Theatre Company [10] and in which he was described as "an authentic musical theatre performer of equally impressive singer-actor ability"; [11] Bobby Strong in Urinetown (2007) for Downstage Theatre of which a reviewer wrote "Kristian Lavercombe as Bobby not only sings and dances better than most leading men but he also does the comedy with style"; [12] Cripple Billy in The Cripple of Inishmaan for The Court Theatre; Puck in Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream for Christchurch Arts Festival ("As Puck, in semblance of a naughty Welsh faun, Kristian Lavercombe was a ball of energy" [13] ); and The Dark Lady in the New Zealand tour of This Holy Fire of Love with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. [8] In 2018, Lavercombe joined the Australian tour of Rocky Horror as Riff Raff opposite Craig McLachlan as Frank N. Furter. In December 2018, he commenced a yearlong UK tour as Riff Raff in Rocky Horror. In 2020, he played Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys at the Court Theatre in New Zealand. In 2021 he once again appeared as Riff Raff in the UK tour of The Rocky Horror Show. On March 15 2022 he performed his 2,000th performance of The Rocky Horror Show; this includes 6 as Narrator. 43 as Frank'n'Furter. 72 as Brad Majors and 1,879 as Riff Raff. [14]
Lavercombe currently lives in Brixton in London.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a 1975 independent musical comedy horror film produced by Lou Adler and Michael White, directed by Jim Sharman, and distributed by 20th Century-Fox. The screenplay was written by Sharman and actor Richard O'Brien, who is also a member of the cast. The film is based on the 1973 musical stage production The Rocky Horror Show, with music, book, and lyrics by O'Brien. The production is a tribute to the science fiction and horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s. Along with O'Brien, the film stars Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, and Barry Bostwick and is narrated by Charles Gray, with cast members from the original Royal Court Theatre, Roxy Theatre, and Belasco Theatre productions, including Nell Campbell and Patricia Quinn.
Jesus Christ Superstar is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with much of the plot centered on Judas, who is dissatisfied with the direction in which Jesus is steering his disciples. Contemporary attitudes, sensibilities and slang pervade the rock opera's lyrics, and ironic allusions to modern life are scattered throughout the depiction of political events. Stage and film productions accordingly contain many intentional anachronisms.
A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been adapted as rock musicals. The use of various character roles within the song lyrics is a common storytelling device. The success of the rock opera genre has inspired similar works in other musical styles, such as rap opera.
The Rocky Horror Show is a musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to various B movies associated with the science fiction and horror genres from the 1930s to the early 1960s, the musical tells the story of a newly engaged couple getting caught in a storm and coming to the home of a mad transvestite scientist, Dr Frank-N-Furter, unveiling his new creation, Rocky, a sort of Frankenstein-style monster in the form of an artificially made, fully grown, physically perfect muscle man complete "with blond hair and a tan".
Peter Blake was a Scottish actor. Probably best known as the character Kirk St Moritz in the BBC sitcom Dear John, by John Sullivan, his other high-profile moments came through his playing of a 'Fonz'-type character in Pepsi-Cola commercials which led to a hit record in 1977 "Lipsmackin' Rock 'n' Rollin", Andy Evol the disc-jockey in Agony with Maureen Lipman for LWT and in an episode of Taggart as Sgt. Bill Kent. He also had a long association with The Rocky Horror Show playing Frank-N-Furter over a thousand times between 1975 and 1994.
Richard Timothy Smith, known professionally as Richard O'Brien, is a British-New Zealand actor, writer, musician, and television presenter. He wrote the musical stage show The Rocky Horror Show in 1973, which has since remained in continuous production. He also co-wrote the screenplay along with director Jim Sharman for the film adaptation, The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), and appeared on-screen as Riff Raff. The film became an international success and has received a large cult following. O'Brien co-wrote the musical Shock Treatment (1981) and appeared in the film as Dr. Cosmo McKinley.
David Bedella is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in Jerry Springer: The Opera, In The Heights, and & Juliet. He has won three Olivier Awards.
Paul Nicholas is an English actor and singer, best known for his work in the 1983 BBC sitcom Just Good Friends. The show won a BAFTA and Nicholas was nominated for best comedy performance.
James David Sharman is an Australian director and writer for film and stage with more than 70 productions to his credit. He is renowned in Australia for his work as a theatre director since the 1960s, and is best known internationally as the director of the 1973 theatrical hit The Rocky Horror Show, its film adaptation The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and the film's follow-up, Shock Treatment (1981).
"Over at the Frankenstein Place" is the third song in the cult musical The Rocky Horror Show, sung outside Dr. Frank N. Furter's castle in the rain in the 1975 cult film. The song is in the key of E major.
"Sweet Transvestite" is a song from the 1973 British musical stage production The Rocky Horror Show and its 1975 film counterpart The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The song is performed by the character, Dr Frank N. Furter, originally played by Tim Curry. The book, music and lyrics are by Richard O'Brien and the musical arrangements by Richard Hartley. It is in the key of E major.
The Rocky Horror Show is a British musical comedy franchise that began with the 1973 stage performance The Rocky Horror Show. The stage performance mimics many horror B movie and science fiction elements. The stage show was adapted in 1975 as the film The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which quickly gained a cult following. After being successfully adapted to film, an "equal" was released in 1981 under the title Shock Treatment. While not an outright sequel, the film features many characters from the first film returning, as well as some cast members in different roles.
Benjamin Edward Forster is a British actor and singer who won ITV's Superstar competition in 2012. As a result, Forster played the lead role of Jesus in the revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar in its 2012 arena tour. Forster returned to the role at the end of May to tour Australia through 2013.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again is a 2016 American musical comedy television film. It is a tribute to and remake of the cult classic 1975 film of the same name and directed by Kenny Ortega, using the original script written by Richard O'Brien and Jim Sharman.
Rocky Horror Show Live is a 2015 musical performance event simulcast live to cinemas across the United Kingdom and Europe from London's Playhouse Theatre on 17 September 2015. The performance, which raised funds for Amnesty International, was the highlight of a two-week run of The Rocky Horror Show at the Playhouse from 11 to 26 September, all featuring the show's creator Richard O'Brien as a narrator.
Kraig Thornber is a British actor, singer and choreographer best known for playing the handyman Riff Raff in The Rocky Horror Show and Grandpa George in the musical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He is a former member of the National Theatre.
The Rocky Horror Show is a video game, based on the musical of the same name, it was developed and published by CRL Group. It was released for Apple II, Commodore 64, Commodore 128, ZX Spectrum, and Amstrad CPC created by the CRL Group PLC.
David Nehls is an American actor, singer, composer and lyricist who, with Betsy Kelso, wrote The Great American Trailer Park Musical. Among other appearances he originated the role of Riff Raff in the 1996-2000 European tour of The Rocky Horror Show. Today he works as a Musical Director for various theatres across the United States.
Matthew Price is a British actor, dancer and West End stage and concert singer known for playing Riff Raff in three European tours of The Rocky Horror Show. He is also a composer, having written Before After (2014) and Imaginary (2017) among other musicals and a theatrical producer, being a co-founder with James Yeoburn of the international production company United Theatrical.
Jeffrey Richard Shankley is a British actor, singer and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company who has had a long career as a television and stage actor particularly in the musicals of Andrew Lloyd Webber for whom he originated several roles, including Munkustrap in the original London production of Cats at the New London Theatre in London in 1981 and Greaseball in Starlight Express at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in 1984.