After fulfilling an ambition to become a Disney villain, Adam Strong is now loving life on the road as Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Show.
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. Really lovely
00:06this afternoon to speak to Adam Strong. Now, Adam, you have fulfilled your ambition to
00:10be a Disney villain, but you've not improved things, have you? Because you're now Frank
00:14McFurter in the Rocky Horror Picture Show, heading on a whopping great tour. You're in
00:20it until at least August. In the meantime, you're coming to Brighton. Quite a contrast
00:24from Aladdin to the Rocky Horror Picture Show. How did that work for you?
00:28Do you know what? It's great to play many different characters. I think a lot of my
00:36characters do tend to change, but you don't get much more opposite than a Disney villain,
00:43which is catered to families and children, to going into a full adult musical and being
00:50in suspenders. I mean, I was...
00:52But these are two sides to your character then, do you think?
00:56Do you think?
00:57I don't know, I'm asking you.
01:00I think so. It was weird going from wearing stupid amounts of clothing to none.
01:09Liberating.
01:09Certainly liberating, but also a lot more freeing because I was very overheated last
01:15summer. So this summer, I shan't be.
01:19And tell me a bit more about Frank then. What do you have to do to be the ultimate Frank?
01:24We'll see.
01:25Number one, you've got to be able to walk in heels.
01:28Because at the minute, you know, this week, we've got a raked stage and we're basically
01:33on a hill. So you've got to be good in heels. You've got to be good at reacting to an audience
01:40because a lot of people that have never seen it, there's an audience script, an audience
01:45participation, which can throw you when you're on stage. But I absolutely love it.
01:50But what does that add to the call outs? That is so much part of it, isn't it?
01:55It adds so much comedy for all of us on stage because we know they're coming.
02:02Especially for myself and the wonderful Jackie Clune, who's our narrator.
02:07She has certain things she knows she can do based on the shout outs.
02:13So it's just it's really fun to play with, with the audience. And, you know, they're
02:18all dressed up. They're all going to get on their feet and, you know, do the time warp.
02:22It's like nothing you've ever seen going to, you know, we're 10 minutes into the musical
02:27and everyone's on their feet dancing. There's not many shows I think that can do that.
02:31Do those shout outs change over the years or are they constant too?
02:36I think there's a few that's been added, but they are constant. And
02:39we looked at the original script recently and it hasn't really changed since the 70s.
02:44Right. And the point is, it hasn't had to. So how do you explain that the show is
02:49from a different era, as we were saying, but still so appealing and still so relevant? How come?
02:55I think Richard O'Brien was just really ahead of his time when it comes to this. And, you know,
02:59it is a crazy story, but it still resonates now. And the fact that nothing's really changed,
03:07yes, the direction and the show has changed over the years, but the fact that the script hasn't,
03:12because it's bonkers. And, you know, as long as everyone's on board with that,
03:18I think the first time you see it, you're like, oh, this is what is happening. It's mental.
03:24Are they aliens? Are they not? What's going on? And I mean, my family have seen it probably
03:2920 times already since I started. And even dad's become, he was singing the songs in the car on
03:34the way home last night. Fantastic. That's a triumph, is it?
03:38Yeah, because I didn't know how it was going to go down. You know, I knew my mother would like it.
03:43I wasn't sure whether he would, but he loves it. Is he doing the call outs as well?
03:48No, not in the middle of the call outs yet. We're not quite there.
03:51But you're working. By August, then?
03:54By August. I've said to my sister, there's certain ones that
03:57if the audience are quiet, I'm going to need you to put in because it helps me.
04:02Fantastic. It's such a wild show, isn't it? And the degree of energy that's required,
04:07it must be exhausting to do, isn't it? Or just a high, a buzz the whole time?
04:12It is a high. I mean, the weekends are hard because we only get about 40 minutes and we
04:17start the next one. Little, oh my goodness.
04:21On a Friday and a Saturday. So there's not much turnaround to have a quick bite of a
04:26sandwich and then you're back on. But it means we don't have any afternoons, really.
04:31A lot of, you know. It's very adult. I mean, I think you have to be over 16 to come and
04:37see the show anyway, but it's just a great fun show.
04:43Fantastic.
04:45Particularly looking forward to bringing it to Brighton, where obviously it's going to
04:49go down pretty well, isn't it?
04:51I can't wait for Brighton. It's going to be amazing. I think the audiences are going to
04:54really, really love it. But I mean, book tickets because it's filling up already,
05:00especially the weekend is extremely busy. And, you know, it's, Rocky Horror's kind of
05:06it's home. The director said to me recently, it's his favourite venue to bring the show
05:12to. So I think it's going to be a great week.
05:16Brilliant. Well, lovely to speak to you. Have a great time in Brighton. Have a great
05:19rest of the tour. Thank you, Adam. Thank you.