The Rocky Horror Show has been a stage phenomenon for more than 50 years. With its fishnet stocking-wearing sweet transvestite from Transylvania Frank-N-Furter and its wholesome couple Janet and Brad, who find themselves marooned in Frank’s castle, it is a theatrical experience in which audiences dress as the characters, shout at the stage and generally have a great time.

And yet for actor Jackie Clune, the first time she saw the stage show was the day before she was to take on the role of the Narrator.

“About three-and-a-half years ago I got a text from the director saying do you want to come and play the Narrator in Rocky Horror?

“I knew the movie but had never seen the stage show. I love musicals and knew the stage show was fun so thought why not? The first time I watched it was the day before I went on stage to do it and I was amazed by the cult status of it - the fact that everyone knows the shout-outs and everyone knows what is going on all the way through.

“The show is so much about the audience. It felt like a cult that I wasn’t a part of - but now I’m very much one of the cult ringleaders.”

Jackie laughs at the memory and admits there were initially surprises for her.

“The Narrator is the only person who talks to the audience and they talk back to them and it’s very much that the audience is another character that the Narrator is in dialogue with. And early on the audience knew a lot more than me!

“There are some shout outs that are very much set in stone which I was ready for but there are some quite niche ones that I didn’t know. So, for example, in the film the Narrator had quite a short neck so there are shout-outs about the shortness of the Narrator’s neck.

“I didn’t know about that and I felt a bit insulted about it! I was thinking ‘my neck is normal length and even if it weren’t, why are you being so personal about it?’

“Also they sometimes shout out ‘boring’ when the Narrator comes because they are the traditional strait-laced one and I didn’t know about that so when I walked on and they shouted ‘boring’ I thought ‘Oh my God, this crowd is feral!’

“That was a learning curve. Sometimes I am still surprised but mostly I can figure out what needs to happen in a moment.”

For Jackie, it is that buzz from the audience which she enjoys so much.

“With some audiences the show is more like a chat and I love that. You go to these big cities in the UK, Birmingham is one of them, and the people are just funny and it’s like having a laugh in the pub. That’s what I love about this job, when I’m onstage and the audience are really up for it.”

Created by Richard O’Brien, The Rocky Horror Show premiered in London in 1973 and has since toured the globe numerous times.

“The show is brilliant, the performers are amazing, the costumes are iconic, the songs - you’re never more than 90 seconds away from an absolute banger,” Jackie says. “It’s just a great fun show that goes at a hell of a pace and it doesn’t take itself too seriously.

“I see people coming to the show, you know big guys dressed in heels and suspenders who obviously have never dressed up like that before in their lives, and it’s just fun and they look completely happy.”

But, she says, the tale does have important things to say.

“It’s a very silly script but I think also it’s still relevant. It’s about personal liberation, the idea of don’t dream it, be it or let it all hang out and be who you are.

“I think the message of tolerance, liberation, celebrating difference, is still unfortunately very relevant. In fact LGBTQ+ rights are being rolled back all over the country and this musical says let people be who they are and celebrate that.

“My son, who is 21 and a student, came to see it for the first time when I was in Cardiff and I warned him that it’s quite rude and I say some terrible things. He said afterwards he found it quite emotional because it’s wholesome. And it is in a way.”

Perhaps it is not surprising that Jackie has found her way to the Rocky Horror Show as her 40-year career has seen her in so many completely different roles. She began as a singer and comedian, performed at Edinburgh Fringe and then went on to work in drama including an all-female Shakespeare’s Henry IV and Noel Coward’s Fallen Angels as well as performing lead roles in hit musicals including Mamma Mia! and Billy Elliot.

She has worked as a university lecturer and radio journalist, has appeared in television shows as diverse as EastEnders, the drama Three Girls and chat show Loose Women and has published two books.

And for her, variety is definitely the spice of life.

“You have to have a portfolio career these days,” she says. “With musicals, it’s a hard life, you have to keep fit and take care of your voice, so straight drama also appeals. I love art that means something, that tries to achieve something, but I also like silliness. And I don’t think we have to be one thing.”

The role of Narrator in Rocky Horror Show was initially played by men but women have increasingly been stepping into those shoes.

“I think it’s really great to have a woman Narrator,” Jackie says.  “A lot of the audience are female and there’s a lot of phallic imagery and reference in the show and I try to counter that with a bit of female stuff.

“I love to hear the women in the audience screaming with laughter and recognition, that’s a great perk in this job for me.

“And I think women of our age are under-represented a lot of the time and if we are represented it’s in quite cliched battleaxe roles so it’s great to be silly, funny, acerbic, have control of the stage and be of my generation. It’s not something that we see enough.”

When the show comes to Birmingham Alexandra Theatre this July, it is a return for Jackie as she also played the Narrator on last year’s UK tour.

“Birmingham audiences are very good,” she says. “When I was at the Alex last year with the show, it was great. I do love it because there’s so much going on in Birmingham and the audiences are always really fun. That Black Country sense of humour is quite deadpan, quite droll, I love it.”

And she urges audiences, those familiar with the show and newcomers, to see the production this time round.

“People should come along, The Rocky Horror Show is a community event and I think that community aspect of it is so missing in our culture so much of the time.

“That is what theatre has to offer which no other artform does, you need to be with other people experiencing it. There’s nothing I like more than that wave of laughter you get from 1,200 people all experiencing the same thing at the same moment - it’s joyful.”

The Rocky Horror Show shows at Birmingham's Alexandra Theatre from Monday 6 to Saturday 11 July 

Feature by Diane Parkes