With many tours of The Rocky Horror Show in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and throughout Asia, actor KRISTIAN LAVERCOMBE has notched up more than 1,600 performances of the show in which he plays Riff Raff… and he’s still playing it. Here he explains just how he became a record-breaker…
You have played Riff Raff in The Rocky Horror Show longer than any other actor, and indeed you have been in the show longer than anybody else since its first production in 1973. When did you get the call?
Rocky Horror has been one of those shows which has just kept coming back for me. The show has become the reoccurring theme of my life to date. The first production I did of it was for an arts festival in my hometown Nelson, New Zealand, when I was about 21 and I’ve now been in about 11 or 12 productions since.
If you add up all the rehearsal periods of Rocky Horror I’ve had, then I’ve spent an entire year of my life rehearsing this show with no audience. Luckily, I love rehearsals as that’s one of your most creative times as an actor because you get to experiment and try things out without the pressure of an audience watching you.
Has it always been the same production or have you appeared in local productions in, for example, Australia or New Zealand?
Out of those productions, five of them have had completely different concepts and designs. Although, the majority of my time working on the show has been spent as part of Christopher Luscombe’s 40th Anniversary production. I have managed to stick with that version through several casts and several countries and have been with it for the duration of its existence – which is no mean feat.
Kristian Lavercombe (Riff Raff) and Laura Harrison (Magenta). Picture: David Freeman
It is inevitable to ask whether you have ever become tired of playing the same part over and over again?
I can safely say I’ve never become bored of playing that character. I feel like Riff Raff is part of my family. I’ve also been lucky enough to do well over a hundred shows as other characters in Rocky Horror.
I was cast as Frank’n’Furter and Brad Majors in the first few productions I was involved in. I didn’t become Riff Raff until my fourth production of Rocky Horror – at which point it was a surprise to me. I never imagined myself playing Riff Raff. I’ve also recently done a short stint as the Narrator – which was great fun.
What I do sometimes find challenging is spending years at a time on tour and living out of a suitcase. To be on tour for long periods you have to sacrifice a lot of things that most people take for granted. For instance, this entire year I’m never in one place longer that seven days.
Presumably, as you have a very varied CV, you have appeared in other shows and plays in between the tours of Rocky Horror?
For most of my career before joining the 40th Anniversary production I was lucky enough to have a pretty busy and varied career as an actor. In New Zealand where I was based you aren’t pigeon holed into one thing and the actors who get work are the ones who are versatile enough to be able to do a play, or a musical, or some radio and TV etc. They love it if you can do a bit of everything there.
What do you think is the secret of Rocky Horror’s lasting success, now that it is approaching its unbelievable 50th year?
It’s quite astounding that Rocky Horror is still playing to very enthusiastic audiences nearly 50 years after its birth. There really is something timeless about the show. It also gives permission for audience members to come along and have a good time. Rocky Horror is unique in the fact that the audiences are allowed to do many of the things that are often looked down upon when you are an audience member.
You get to dress up, have a few drinks and even yell back at the stage. You can sit in the audience of Rocky Horror and feel like you are a very important part of the show. I think the show was an immersive experience decades before that type of theatre became cool. Rocky Horror audiences were also cosplaying before there was a name for it. This underdog of a show continues to hold its ground while other more commercial shows have disappeared.
The loyal fans of the show have kept it going as they turn up in their Rocky Horror costumes in tribute to the show they love. Do you get to meet the fans after the show and are they at every performance, even on the overseas tours?
I’ve never met such a dedicated audience. Some of the regulars have been coming along to Rocky Horror for decades. The fans are a very inclusive bunch who welcome people from all different walks of life. For some people, finding Rocky Horror is like finding your tribe. So, wherever the show is – usually on a Friday or Saturday night – the audience is often full of old friends from different parts of the country who bond over their admiration for all things Rocky Horror.
You were born in Wales but trained in New Zealand. Did your family emigrate or was it just you who ventured to the other side of the world?
I spent most of my childhood in Wales, although we did spend a year or so living in South Africa. Then when I was about 10 my family emigrated to New Zealand. We ended up living in a small, beautiful town called Nelson, which is at the top of the South Island. It was an idyllic place to spend my teenage years. I own a house there. Although – not surprisingly – I’ve never lived in it.
You have notched up a variety of different productions in your time, from Shakespeare to Amadeus, from Rent to Amy’s View, from The Wizard of Oz to The Cripple of Inishmaan, from Caesar and Cleopatra to The Fantasticks, from Mother Courage to Urinetown, and from Lady Windermere’s Fan to The Queen and I. Do you enjoy appearing in straight plays as much as musicals?
Yes, I love doing straight plays. When I first started working as an actor I worked for a company that pretty much only did plays. Those years were actually some of my most formative times as an actor. I was surrounded by an amazing bunch of very experienced and skilled actors, and as the baby of the company I treated it like an acting apprenticeship. The skills I learnt from performing with and watching those actors and directors really moulded me and have influenced my work on every acting job I’ve ever had.
Picture: Richard Davenport
As well as an actor you have also directed and designed theatre productions. Are you equally happy to do any of the three jobs?
I’ve discovered over the years, that I’m happy as long as I’m doing something creative. It doesn’t make any difference to me what form that takes. I’m just as happy creating a character in a rehearsal room as I am creating some kind of art in a workshop. I believe I’m at my best, when I am in a situation where my different artistic skills are allowed to meet up.
Apart from Riff Raff what has been your favourite stage role to date?
I love playing quirky, and unusual characters. I seem to have an affinity for the offbeat. Off the top of my head I really enjoyed playing Puck in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream, and I also loved playing an autistic Leaf Coneybear in the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
Are there any parts you would like to play in the future or any productions you want to direct?
I would love to play Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. It’s been a while since I directed or designed anything, but I would absolutely love to get back involved in that side of things if the opportunity came up.
You are still touring in The Rocky Horror Show – so do you think you will hit the 1,700 performances mark?
I’m definitely going to hit performance number 1,700 this year. Who knows what happens after that!
Are there any other plans for your immediate future on stage… and are films and television out of the question?
It’s challenging for any actor to know what they are doing a year from now. I might be playing the best role I’ve ever played or I might be serving coffee in your local coffee shop. That is just the nature of being a performer and working in a creative industry. I can however guarantee that I will be doing something creative. The thought of branching back into TV and film would be an absolute dream for me. There is so much interesting and varied TV being made these days that I love the idea of popping up as some weird character in some period drama or fantasy.
Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show tours the UK until 2 November 2019. For tickets and venues visit: www.rockyhorror.co.uk
Compiled by Michael Darvell
Aside from Rocky Horror, Kristian Lavercombe has had leading roles in over 30 professional productions. Highlights include: Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar (Auckland Theatre Company), Bobby Strong in Urinetown (Downstage Theatre), Leaf Coneybear in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Auckland Theatre Company), Dodger in Oliver! (The Court Theatre), Puck in Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Christchurch Arts Festival) and The Dark Lady in the New Zealand tour of This Holy Fire of Love (New Zealand Symphony Orchestra).
Other shows include: Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Lady Windermere’s Fan, Amy’s View, The Cripple of Inishmaan, The Complete Works of Shakespeare – Abridged, Skylight, Antony and Cleopatra, Alice, Caesar and Cleopatra, Mother Courage, The Queen and I (Court Theatre), My First Time (Fortune Theatre), Rent (Auckland Musical Theatre), The Wizard Of Oz (Peach Theatre) Hushabye Mountain (Auckland International Comedy Festival), Amadeus (Theatre Alive), The Fantasticks (CAN Professional Theatre), Sinbad (The Actors Company) and Tarquin in the TV series Dark Knight (Palana Productions).
He has recently finished writing a rock musical with Australian television star Craig McLachlan.
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