|
Footnote: The disastrous “Rogue” Rocky
The Kenneth More Theatre originated the legendary 1980s “Rocky Horror Show” tour. First produced at the KMT in 1983, it became a joint KMT/Theatre Royal Hanley undertaking in 1984, and then from 1985 – 1988 ran under the Hanley banner with the KMT controlling the artistic input. In 1989 the production undertook a five-month European tour, with Panda Productions of Düsseldorf. This European tour was not a happy experience because of disputes with the German management company. Overall the legendary production played: 170 weeks in the UK 16 weeks in Europe 3 weeks in Israel 89 different theatres in the UK 11 different theatres in Europe 3 different theatres in Israel
In 1990 the German company continued with a “rogue” tour in Europe. This was improperly passing itself off as being directed by the original KMT team. Panda Productions got away with its unauthorised (and ultimately illegal) performances until the show finally collapsed in bankruptcy in Paris at the end of 1990.
The KMT’s first ever involvement with RHS was in March 1983, when it staged a two-week run at the Kenneth More. The cast consisted of:
Frank’n’Furter - Jeffrey Longmore Riff-Raff - Neil Merryweather Brad Majors - Owen Whittaker Janet Weiss - Shealagh Dennis Rocky Horror - Simon Hayward Magenta - Elisa Tebith Columbia - Loraine Porter Eddie/Dr Scott - Jeff Pirie Ghouls - Mark Bajer, Marc Irwin, Sandy McLauchlan The musical director was Laurence Payne Choreography: Loraine Porter Lighting and Sound Design: Andrew Stone Costume Design: Nigel Ellacott & Margaret Brice
1984 AT THE THEATRE ROYAL, HANLEY This production was revived a year later (May 7th, 1984) for one week at the Theatre Royal Hanley. The Hanley theatre had only recently started staging live shows again after nearly twenty years as a venue for bingo. Its manager was Paul Barnard. The backstage areas were very tatty, and the technical equipment very poor, but there was an enthusiasm to restore the venue. The KMT’s revived production saw a few cast changes from the original:
MAY 1984 Narrator - Vivyan Ellacott Frank’n’Furter - Jeffrey Longmore Riff-Raff - Matthew Ryan Brad Majors - Stephen Fischer Janet Weiss - Sally Ann Triplett Rocky Horror - Stephen J Dean Magenta - Elisa Tebith Columbia - Loraine Porter Eddie/Dr Scott - Jeff Pirie Ghouls - Mark Bajer, Shaun Doherty, Andrew Ryan
The production team remained the same. This “Rocky” did amazingly good business at the Hanley Theatre. Paul Barnard was delighted, and re-booked “Rocky” to play a further two weeks in October, with some possible weeks at other theatres to follow. The KMT was not interested in undertaking the management of a tour, but was happy to take charge of the artistic and staging side. So the Theatre Royal Hanley (Paul Barnard) became the official management presenting the Kenneth More Theatre’s production of RHS. Vivyan Ellacott (as Director) still held artistic control, but the financial control and tour management now passed to the Theatre Royal. Six months later – in October/November - the third outing of the KMT’s “Rocky” saw a few more cast changes: Narrator - Peter Beadle (later: Antony Mayne) Frank’n’Furter - Jeffrey Longmore Riff-Raff - Christopher Channing Brad Majors - Christopher Marlowe Janet Weiss - Julia Howson Rocky Horror - Stephen J Dean Magenta - Caroline Read Columbia - Alison Ruffelle Eddie/Dr Scott - Jeff Pirie The musical director was now Malcolm Sircom – otherwise the production team remained the original group from the Kenneth More Theatre. After a two week run at Hanley, the cast re-assembled a month later. Peter Beadle was not available (he had been offered a Scandinavian tour of “The Mousetrap”) so the role of the narrator was taken by Antony Mayne. This cast played two days at Hanley and a week each at: Birmingham, Alexandra Theatre Glasgow, Pavilion Theatre. Paul Barnard now made plans to launch “Rocky” on a major tour to start at the Playhouse Theatre, Edinburgh on 9th February 1985.
At the beginning of the 1980s one or two tours of RHS had been staged, but they had not been especially long-running. Nobody was prepared to guess how long the KMT/Hanley tour might run. Many UK theatres were adopting a “wait and see” policy – “Let’s see how it sells over the first few weeks, and then we might book it. . .”. Accordingly no one knew whether to ask for the touring rights for six weeks or six months! A contract was drawn up and Richard O’Brien and the Samuel French Agency granted Hanley the exclusive UK touring rights for the remaining ten months of 1985. Eventually the 1985 tour played 39 weeks. Generally each member of the cast was contracted for a three-month period, so there were several cast changes throughout the year as performers moved on.
Performers in 1985 included: Narrator - Antony Mayne & Ian Gardiner Frank’n’Furter - Richard Kates & David Dale Riff-Raff - Keith Burns & Paul Kerryson Brad Majors - Christopher Marlowe, Stephen Fischer Janet Weiss - Andrea Lynne Milton, Samantha O’Brien & Grainee Renihan Rocky Horror - Philip Fry, Mark Hadigan & Bryan Lawrence Magenta - Judith Eyre Columbia - Deirdre Forrest Eddie/Dr Scott - Barry McKenna, Desmond Barritt & James Head Ghouls - Graham Mulvein, Mark Vince, Charlotte Seago The Musical Director was Malcolm Sircom. The Stage Management team was Graham Mulvein, Mark Vince and Charlotte Seago. The sound operator was Simon King. Theatres played in 1985 were: EDINBURGH, Playhouse GLASGOW, Pavilion ABERDEEN, Capital BIRMINGHAM, Alexandra SOUTHPORT, Theatre HULL, New STOCKPORT, Davenport LEEDS, City Varieties HANLEY, Theatre Royal OXFORD, Apollo SUNDERLAND, Empire WIMBLEDON, Theatre COVENTRY, Apollo STIRLING, McRobert Centre BLACKPOOL, Grand LIVERPOOL, Royal Court SOUTHAMPTON, Nuffield BRISTOL, Hippodrome WOLVERHAMPTON, Grand NORWICH, Theatre Royal POOLE, Arts Centre LINCOLN, Theatre Royal SHEFFIELD, Crucible (2 weeks) NORTHAMPTON, Derngate BATH, Theatre Royal WIMBLEDON, Theatre NOTTINGHAM, Theatre Royal GLASGOW, Pavilion BOURNEMOUTH, Playhouse BASILDON, Towngate STOCKPORT, Davenport BLACKPOOL, Grand Theatre HAYES, Beck SOUTHSEA, King’s HANLEY, Theatre Royal GLASGOW, Pavilion MANCHESTER, Palace BIRMINGHAM, Hippodrome
The surprising feature of this tour was the number of return visits played. And, each time “Rocky” returned to a venue it increased its previous attendance figures. The show had established itself as the second most successful touring production of 1985 (second to “Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”).
A new set was created and – most significantly of all – a lot of money was invested in lasers. The show was now “big”, with big effects. It was now more like a rock concert than a “studio” show. This was a “new look” Rocky.
Performers during 1986: Narrator Peter Thorne, John North Frank’n’Furter Bobby Crush. Cameron Stuart. Jonathan Kiley, Bobby Bannerman Riff-Raff Kinny Gardner, Paul Critchlow Brad Majors Christopher Marlowe, Graeme Smith Janet Weiss Karyn O’Neill, Jayne Moore, Julia Howson Rocky Horror David Ian, Jean Paul Orr Magenta Elisa Tebith, Adeen Fogle. Daliah Wood Columbia Julie Faye Eddie Simon Fox, Andrew Ryan Dr Scott Mark Turnbull, Patrick French Ghouls Andrew Ryan, Jo-Anne Lee, Robert Bicknell, Lorinda King, Marc Seymour Musical Director: Malcolm Sircom, Noel Stevens
For the 1986 tour the Stage Management team comprised Sarah Bourne, Stage Manager; and Mandy Ankers as Wardrobe Supervisor. Dave Wilkins was Sound Designer, followed later in the year by Mike Berry. The Laser show was designed and operated by Andy Shaw and Steve Playford. By mid 1986 Judy Walker had joined as ASM. At the end of 1986 Marc Vince took over as Company Manager (replacing Peter Thorne, who had left to appear in pantomime)
During 1986 the show played 47 weeks. The touring list was:
HANLEY, Theatre Royal SHEFFIELD, Crucible LEWISHAM, Concert Hall RICHMOND, Theatre NOTTINGHAM, Theatre Royal GUILDFORD, Yvonne Arnaud STOCKPORT, Davenport WIMBLEDON, Theatre NOTTINGHAM, Theatre Royal READING, Hexagon BLACKPOOL, Grand BIRMINGHAM, Alexandra WIMBLEDON, Theatre ABERDEEN, Capital GLASGOW, Pavilion EDINBURGH, Playhouse HILLINGDON, Beck HASTINGS, Pavilion BRIGHTON, The Dome MANCHESTER, Palace DUNDEE, Repertory LEEDS, Grand POOLE, Towngate BRISTOL, Hippodrome DERBY, Playhouse STEVENAGE, Gordon Craig KENTISH TOWN, Town & Country Club HANLEY, Theatre Royal BIRMINGHAM, Hippodrome BRIGHTON, The Dome LIVERPOOL, Empire BRADFORD, Alhambra RICHMOND, Theatre CROYDON, Ashcroft CATFORD, Lewisham Theatre BATH, Theatre Royal BLACKPOOL, Grand OXFORD, Apollo STOCKPORT, Davenport CHICHESTER, Festival WIMBLEDON, Theatre WOLVERHAMPTON, Grand MANCHESTER, Apollo (Wk 1)
The tour was doing excellent business throughout the country. Its success was phenomenal, and prompted an offer from a West End Theatre. But Richard O’Brien refused permission. He said he disliked the production - it was “too vulgar”. In an interview in “Time Out” he described it as “amateur – the entire cast doing nothing but commenting on the action and looking up each other’s frocks and touching each other up. There’s no excitement. No danger”. He also absolutely hated the lasers. In spite of Richard O’Brien’s criticism the show continued to break box office records everywhere. (And - since he was collecting 10% of the phenomenal weekly takings –he made no further complaints about the tour. It was an open secret that Richard O’Brien was trying to raise backing to take his own production of “Rocky” into the West End.) Thus the KMT/Hanley tour was able to continue, provided it never had four consecutive empty weeks. The 1987 cast included:
Narrator - John North, Peter Thorne, Marc Seymour Frank’n’Furter - Bobby Bannerman, Jonathan Kiley, Mark Turnbull Riff-Raff - Paul Critchlow Brad Majors - Christopher Marlowe, Andrew Ryan, Craig Deegan Janet Weiss - Julia Howson, Julie Faye, Claire Callaghan Rocky Horror - Jean-Paul Orr Magenta - Daliah Wood, Julie Fox Columbia - Lorinda King, Janet Burgis Eddie - Marc Seymour Dr Scott - Mark Turnbull, Roger John Lee Ghouls - Judy Walker, Mark Diamond, Julie Fox, Paul Cottingham, Sue Cotter, Janet Burgis
Musical Director: Malcolm Sircom, Kevin Street
Dates played in 1987 MANCHESTER, Apollo (Wk 2) SCARBOROUGH, Apollo PRESTON, Charter LEAMINGTON, Royal Spa HALIFAX, Civic RICHMOND, Theatre NOTTINGHAM, Theatre Royal HANLEY, Theatre Royal PORTSMOUTH, Guildhall DARLINGTON, Civic STOCKPORT, Davenport SWINDON, Wyvern WINCHESTER, Theatre Royal WIMBLEDON, Theatre DARTFORD, Orchard CAMBRIDGE, Arts HACKNEY, Empire LIVERPOOL, Empire HANLEY, Theatre Royal BLACKPOOL, Grand SWANSEA, Grand NORTHAMPTON, Derngate READING, Hexagon BIRMINGHAM, Hippodrome LEEDS, Grand SOUTHSEA, King’s CROYDON, Ashcroft MANCHESTER, Palace BROMLEY, Churchill ISRAEL – 3 weeks PETERBOROUGH, Key (2 weeks) SOUTHAMPTON, Mayflower BOLTON, Sports Centre HARLOW, Playhouse RICHMOND, Theatre EDINBURGH, King’s HULL, New BRIGHTON, The Dome CATFORD, Lewisham Theatre WIMBLEDON, Theatre HATFIELD, Forum LINCOLN, The Ritz BLACKPOOL, Grand OXFORD, Apollo BRADFORD, Alhambra BRISTOL, Hippodrome NOTTINGHAM, Theatre Royal
The cast for the Tel-Aviv in July 1987 was:
Narrator - Peter Thorne Frank’n’Furter - Jonathan Kiley Riff-Raff - Paul Critchlow Brad Majors - Andrew Ryan Janet Weiss - Julie Faye Rocky Horror - Jean-Paul Orr Magenta - Julie Fox Columbia - Janet Burgis Eddie - Marc Seymour Dr Scott - Mark Turnbull Ghouls - Judy Walker, Paul Cottingham
Musical Director: Malcolm Sircom
Because the weather was so hot – Israel in August! – the cast (and population!) would tend to do as little as possible in the daytime and then spend all night wining and dining in the beachfront cafes and bars. The cast had a wonderful time: a trip to Jerusalem and to Bethlehem; a trip to Masada and a swim in the Dead Sea. The show spent two weeks playing in the Cinerama and then a few further performances in Haifa and one in an open-air theatre on the shores of Lake Galilee. (The week after this the cast was in Peterborough!)
Some photo memories of Israel:
He wanted to put his own mark on the show – and insisted on a number of changes to the artistic side of the show. (Amongst these were an “Egg” out of which Rocky was born, and a statue of the Venus de Milo used for various sex gags, and a running gag of an offstage cat.) The Director and choreographer were not happy with some of these changes. Charles Deacon also insisted on casting the show himself without consultation with the artistic team. The KMT side of the partnership were unhappy with some of his actions and gradually the atmosphere was souring.
At the same time Richard O’Brien announced his own production for the West End. (somewhat hypocritically including lasers ) When a show plays the West End it is customary to have a “barring” clause preventing any other performances within a 50 mile radius of London. This meant the KMT/Hanley “Rocky” was effectively barred from half its theatres and still subject to the “four empty weeks and you’re finished” rule.
The decision was inevitable. The “Rocky” tour would have to end. The final week was at Hanley – the week of 6th August 1988.
The cast for the 1988 tour was:
Narrator - Marc Seymour Frank’n’Furter - Mark Turnbull Riff-Raff - Paul Critchlow Brad Majors - Craig Deegan Janet Weiss - Claire Callaghan, Sue Cotter Rocky Horror - Jean-Paul Orr, David Ian (last few weeks only) Magenta - Julie Fox Columbia - Lorinda King Eddie - Paul Cottingham Dr Scott - Roger John-Lee Ghouls - Judy Walker, Philippa Blake, Marc Vince
The stage management team remained Marc Vince, Sarah Bourne, Judy Walker and Mandy Ankers. Mike Berry remained on sound and Andy Shaw on lasers.
The 1988 Touring dates were:
CHELTENHAM, Everyman ST HELENS, Theatre Royal BILLINGHAM, Forum CHICHESTER, Festival BATH, Theatre Royal SCARBOROUGH, Futurist EASTBOURNE, Devonshire Park HALIFAX, Civic GLASGOW, Pavilion LIVERPOOL, Empire WOLVERHAMPTON, Grand BOURNEMOUTH, Pavilion STOCKPORT, Davenport NORWICH, Theatre Royal, AYR, Gaiety WIMBLEDON, Theatre BIRMINGHAM, Hippodrome EDINBURGH, Playhouse CROYDON, Ashcroft BRISTOL, Hippodrome HULL, New MANCHESTER, Palace NOTTINGHAM, Royal Concert Hall BLACKPOOL, North Pier LEEDS, Grand SOUTHAMPTON, Mayflower SOUTHEND, Cliffs Pavilion SWANSEA, Grand HANLEY, Theatre Royal
And so, the sensational KMT/Hanley “Rocky Horror Show” ended its phenomenal run. The last week at Hanley was a wonderful series of parties. Fans came from all over the country. It is still remembered by very many fans as one of the greatest theatrical experiences of their lives. (One particular fan, Dawn Thorpe, had seen the show over 300 times and had even travelled to Israel for the show).
1989: ROCKY REBORN FOR EUROPEAN TOUR
A year passed. Some strange things were going on at Hanley. Charles Deacon was now accused of financial misbehaviour and was facing a court hearing. Paul Barnard, reportedly innocent of all earlier charges against him, re-appeared as the managing director of a German company called Panda Productions based in Dusseldorff.
He announced he had negotiated the rights and funding for a major European tour of RHS. He approached the KMT to re-assemble the “old team” and to re-stage “Rocky” in all its proper glory and to tour it to major European theatres.
Everything was done properly. The artists were engaged on official Equity touring contracts. A large sum of money was deposited with Equity – enough to cover two weeks’ money in lieu of notice plus air-fares home from the furthest point in Europe for every member of the cast. This was a safety-net in case anything should go wrong with the tour. The tour previewed in Hannover on 28 June 1989.
The European cast was:
Narrator - Peter Thorne Frank’n’Furter - Jonathan Kiley Riff-Raff - Andrew Ryan, (alternate)Nicholas Mead Brad Majors - Christopher Marlowe, (alternate)Geoffrey Stevens Janet Weiss - Amanda Nolan, (alternate)Joanne Robertson Rocky Horror - Adam Caine Magenta - Alison Pollard, (alternate)Jacqui Johns Columbia - Samantha Carr Eddie/Dr Scott - Marc Seymour
Musical Director: Phil Waddington
Mandy Ankers was in charge of Wardrobe. Sound was by Mike Berry, Lasers by Andy Shaw, and Lighting by Saul Hopwood. Sadly, the production rapidly fell apart. Despite excellent previews in Hannover , good attendances in Berlin and a sell-out in Munich, things started to go wrong. Paul Barnard quarrelled with the German booking agent, Wolfgang Bocksch, and cancelled the remaining dates. He announced he would book his own dates and would “go it alone”. New dates and cities were scheduled at very short notice. Far too often the show would be cancelled at the last minute because Paul Barnard had quarrelled with the theatre owners. He would then transfer it to some new venue at a few days’ notice with no advance publicity. His behaviour was leading to disastrous business consequences. Despite his irrational behaviour and peculiar mood swings, the cast were determined to make the best of it. The shows – when they managed to be performed – were very well received, and the audiences very enthusiastic. The tour ended a fortnight earlier than planned. Paul Barnard claimed the cast were in breach of contract for refusing to perform some last minute date he had organised. Equity supported the cast, but Paul Barnard refused to pay them and “sacked” them all by sending them home early. (The more likely reason for this was that Paul Barnard had run out of money and could not afford to pay the wages.) Fortunately Equity was still holding the original money deposited as a sign of good faith, so everyone was paid in full. It was an unpleasant end, but the cast had been resilient enough to cope with it and remember the better parts of the experience. The European Tour schedule was: HANNOVER, Aegi Theater (7 performances) BERLIN, Freivolksbuhne (6 performances) SCHEVENINGEN, Circus (10 performances) ANTWERP, Arenberg Theatre (17 performances) MUNICH, Museumsaal (4 performances) HEERLEN (2 performances) UTRECHT (2 performances) ROTTERDAM (3 performances) TILBURG (1 performance) BRUSSELS, Circus (5 performances) OSTEND, Casino (2 performances) The last performance was on 17 October
Paul wanted to renew the tour in 1990, but the KMT said no. This was the last of the amazing series of Rocky performances. The European tour has been disorganised, but the cast had survived it all but – enough was enough.
A TIMELINE OF CAST MEMBERS
NARRATORS Vivyan Ellacott 1983, 1984 Peter Beadle 1984, 1985 Antony Mayne 1985 Ian Gardiner 1985 Peter Thorne 1986, 1987, 1989 (Europe) John North 1987 Marc Seymour 1988 FRANK’n’FURTER Jeffrey Longmore 1983,1984, 1985 Richard Kates 1985 David Dale 1985 Bobby Crush 1986 Cameron Stuart 1986 Jonathan Kiley 1986, 1987, 1989 (Europe) Bobby Bannerman 1987 Mark Turnbull 1988
RIFF-RAFF Neil Merryweather 1983 Matthew Ryan 1984 Christopher Channing 1984 Keith Burns 1985 Paul Kerryson 1985 Kinny Gardiner 1986 Paul Critchlow 1986,1987, 1988 Andrew Ryan 1989 (Europe)
BRAD MAJORS Owen Whittaker 1983 Stephen Fischer 1984, 1985 Christopher Marlowe 1984, 1985, 1986,1987, 1989(Europe) Graeme Smith 1986 Andrew Ryan 1987 Craig Deegan 1987, 1988
JANET WEISS Shealagh Dennis 1983 Sally Ann Triplett 1984 Julia Howson 1984, 1985, 1987 Andrea Milton 1985 Samantha O’Brien 1985 Grainee Renihan 1985 Karyn O’Neill 1986 Jayne Moore 1986 Julie Faye 1987 Claire Callaghan 1987, 1988 Amanda Nolan 1989 (Europe)
ROCKY Simon Hayward 1983 Stephen J Dean 1984, 1985 Philip Fry 1985 Mark Hadigan 1985 Bryan Lawrence 1985 David Ian 1986, 1988 Jean-Paul Orr 1987, 1988 Adam Caine 1989 (Europe)
MAGENTA Elisa Tebith 1984 Caroline Reed 1984 Judith Eyre 1985 Elisa Tebith 1986 Adeen Fogle 1986 Daliah Wood 1986, 1987 Julie Fox 1987, 1988 Alison Pollard 1989 (Europe)
COLUMBIA Loraine Porter 1983, 1984 Alison Ruffelle 1984, 1985 Deirdre Forrest 1985 Julie Faye 1986 Lorinda King 1987, 1988 Janet Burgis 1987 Samantha Carr 1989 (Europe)
EDDIE/DR SCOTT Jeff Pirie 1983, 1984 Barry McKenna 1985 Desmond Barrit 1985 James Head 1985 Marc Seymour 1987, 1989 (Europe)
EDDIE (Only)
Simon Fox 1986 Andrew Ryan 1986 Marc Seymour 1987 Paul Cottingham 1988
DR SCOTT (Only) Mark Turnbull 1986, 1987 Patrick French 1986 Roger John Lee 1988
GHOULS
Mark Bajer 1983,1984 Marc Irwin 1983 Sandy McLauchlan 1983 Shaun Doherty 1984 Andrew Ryan 1984, 1986 Graham Mulvein 1985 Mark Vince 1985, 1987, 1988 Charlotte Seago 1985 Joanna Lee 1986 Judy Walker 1986, 1987, 1988 Robert Bicknell 1986 Philip Judge 1986 Lorinda King 1986 Mark Stevenson 1986 Mark Diamond 1987 Julie Fox 1987 Paul Cottingham 1987 Sue Cotter 1987 Janet Burgis 1987 Philippa Blake 1988
Some long-standing connections:
John Farrow His involvement with “Rocky” lasted from the very first visit to Hanley to the very end of the KMT/Hanley tour. John was in charge of booking, touring schedule, production management – everything. He was thoroughly professional, totally organised, immensely kind and great fun. He had been involved in every branch of show business throughout his career. His sudden and early death not long after the end of the Rocky tour was a great shock.
Malcolm Sircom & the Newton Twins Musical director and band members for the largest part of the tour.
Andy Shaw Laser operator from the first introduction of lasers (1986) right through to the disastrous unauthorised European “pirate”.
Mike Berry Sound operator for many years.
Mandy Ankers Starting with the first Hanley performance, Mandy toured with the show for nearly all its outings - chiefly in charge of wardrobe.
Dawn Thorpe The greatest of the “Rocky” fans.
Footnote:
THE FIRST ITALIAN TOUR January – May, 1990 On Boxing Day 1989 a company of actors flew to Italy for a “new” “Rocky Horror Show” opening over the New Year. The posters outside the theatre in Milan advertised Jonathan Kiley as Frank in a production directed by Vivyan Ellacott and choreographed by Loraine Porter. But none of these people were in any way involved. The posters were left over from the previous year. Even the programmes being sold in the theatre were left over from the 1989 tour.
This was a non-Equity tour passing itself off as a bona-fide extension of the previous year’s show. Paul Barnard had re-created the show, financed on a shoestring. In spite of protests, he continued to use the old posters and programmes, and a number of people believed this was a genuine extension of the former KMT production.
This tour played January to June 1990
Dates included
4 weeks in Milan (from 29 Dec 1989)
6 weeks of 2/3 night stands in small towns ending in Verona
2 weeks back in the UK with no performances
From 13 March 1990
2 weeks Turin (Teatro Colliseo)
2/3 night stands in Empoli, Pisa, etc
1 week Riccione from 12 April
3 weeks back in Milan
The company returned to London on 14 May
Things started going wrong towards the end of March: wages were unpaid, then only part paid; one performance was cancelled because the actors refused to go on unless they were paid; three actors left the show because of non-payment; actors were moved to cheaper hotels; the Musical Director quit because he hadn’t been paid at all.
By the time the company arrived back in Milan most of them were penniless. The musicians went busking in the street to raise money to buy food for everyone. At the end of the Milan run everyone was paid the sum of £300. This meant outstanding unpaid wages ranged between £300 and £2,700 for each member of the company.
On May 14th everyone was flown back home and promised the outstanding money would be paid on May 21st when the company re-assembled in London to rehearse for the Paris season.
There were a number of cast replacements – most of whom knew nothing about the financial problems. Many remaining cast members were only prepared to go to Paris if they received all the back pay owed them. Some pretended they would go to Paris as a ploy to get the unpaid wages. After being paid they would then pull out.
At these rehearsals Paul Barnard offered them all a quarter of everything they were owed there and then, with the balance to be paid at the end of the first week in Paris. He paid this in cash. (However, he made no payment whatsoever to the five members who had legitimately ended the tour in Milan and would not be renewing for Paris. )
THE FIRST PARIS PRODUCTION June 1990 May 27th: The Company arrived in France for a four week run at the Casino de Paris (June 1st to 30th) . On the first pay day there was no wages : no back-payment, no current payment. The cast refused to perform and planned to return home.
The manager of the Casino stepped in. He promised to pay all the Paris wages on a regular basis. He could not, obviously, pay any of the back money and unpaid debts from previous theatres – but, whilst at the Casino all wages would be paid directly by the Paris management.
The show completed its run and attracted good business and good reviews. (Though the wrong names received praise : the show was still using the old publicity and programmes from the legitimate European tour. By now only two of the original names were still in the cast!)
The show was re-booked for September/October in Paris. The company returned home with yet another promise that all outstanding money would be paid. A new financial structure would be in place for the autumn tour. New publicity would be printed.
THE SECOND PARIS PRODUCTION September – October 1990
From 10 September – 7th October the production was revived for the Casino de Paris. Again it was successful and got excellent reviews. There were no problems with wages. However, there were a number of unpaid trade suppliers, and no new posters or programmes were printed. (And there was still a range of unpaid wages dating back to the beginning of the year)
8 October – 2nd Nov
The company returned to London for a two week gap to be followed by a tour of Italy. However, the Italian tour was postponed and the company laid off. Some of them took other work, so by the time some Italian dates were fixed it was necessary to hold rehearsals for cast replacements.
During these rehearsals representatives of Equity and Richard O’Brien himself turned up for a meeting with the actors. They were warned about Paul Barnard’s record of not paying wages and owing money, warned that the show was unlicensed and that legal efforts were being made to stop it, and warned that they would probably end up stranded in Europe. They were urged not to accept the job.
The actors mostly rejected this advice, explaining they were not in a position to turn down work given that the alternative was the dole queue.
One actor who was owed £776 from the original Italian tour received a partial repayment of £500 after agreeing to rejoin the company. He then pulled out after one day’s rehearsal , considering himself lucky to have cut his losses.
The keyboard player from that time agreed to return to the Italian tour having had all his £1400 outstanding money repaid.
THE SECOND ITALIAN TOUR
November, 1990
The first week comprised 2 days in San Benedetto del Tronto. It played to empty houses. 2 days in Fano – a tiny venue. 2 days in Jesi – at a beautiful old opera house. The company was paid for this week in full. But no arrears were paid. The second week saw 2 days in Macerata – cancelled because venue was too small? 4 days in Florence, the Teatro Tende – a 2000 seat venue. The opening night sold 150 tickets. The rest of the Florence run saw similar houses.
It was here the problems began. The company received half pay – with a promise of the balance at the beginning of the next week in Palermo - where the show was set to do a two and a half week run, and was already doing “sell out business”. There was no money for air-fares, so the company did a 16 hour overnight train journey to Palermo. The show opened not to “sell-out business” but to almost empty houses.
For the first Palermo week everyone received the proper week’s wage plus £35 each towards unpaid arrears. The second week there was no money at all. The third week the production collapsed. Everyone was given £60 towards outstanding wages and provided with air tickets home.
They were promised all their unpaid wages plus 2 weeks “notice” money would be paid in the UK “next week”, and they would all be re-engaged in 3 weeks time for a production in Rome.
On Dec 2nd everyone returned home. The following week none of the promised money was received. Paul Barnard informed them the cash was available in Rome, but it would cost too much money in bank transfers and currency exchange to send it to the UK. It could be collected as soon as they arrived in Rome for the planned 21st December opening.
THE THIRD ITALIAN TOUR
Despite numerous drop-outs and new castings, a (reduced) company flew to Rome on December 18th. On arrival, those who were owed back money were each paid £450 on account (not the full outstanding amount as promised). When some of them protested Paul Barnard flew into a rage and announced he was cancelling the show. However, the show opened as planned on December 20th – unfortunately to poor houses. Its artistic standard was dreadful – under rehearsed, under cast, technically inadequate, musically incomplete. Some of the cast announced they would leave at the end of the Rome season, and would not move onto the next date. In spite of this, everyone rehearsed hard and succeeded in lifting the standard of the production.
The Rome season closed on January 12th. The outstanding wages had not been paid. A number of actors quit the show and returned home. A deal was now struck with Paul Barnard where all the income – independently verified – would be treated on a profit-share basis.
On Monday 14 January the company arrived to play one week in Bari, playing the 1500 seat Teatro Petruzelli. With four unrehearsed actors and the chorus down to one the show opened in its worst ever artistic state. However, the houses were good – around 80% - and the cast successfully worked like mad to make an improvement in the standard. But, in spite of good business, most of the money was seized by creditors.
Two days at Lecce brought in £90 each. The following two performances at Foggia were cancelled by the theatre. (They had seen the show at Lecce and claimed it was too risqué)
The company had four days off and then headed for the Teatro Bellini in Naples. Contacts in Naples indicated the business was good. Possibly the last hope of recovering outstanding money lay with the profit-share at Naples.
At this point two of the company decided to give up and return home. The remainder played Naples where the show went well and attracted capacity houses. On the first pay day the Company received some money. On the final Sunday the theatre received legal notice preventing it from paying any money to the actors until other debts were settled- including transport, royalties, agency fees, equipment hire.
An immediate legal battle ensued. The company received just half a week’s standard wage – they were still owed some back pay, the balance of unpaid wages for the past few weeks and the balance for the current week. The UK performers were given tickets for a cheap flight back to London.
On Monday Feb 4th the owners of the hotel in Naples seized the company’s luggage because of the unpaid hotel bill. Eight Carabinieri were called to prevent them leaving. Two actors paid their own bills. Two others managed to sneak out unnoticed, but all the others missed the train and the flight connection that had already been bought for them.
After collecting some money between them and leaving it as a deposit against a promised cheque from Germany, they were allowed to leave. They now had to purchase new air tickets at £180 each before arriving back in England on Tuesday 5th February.
The Italian Press reported the story , claiming that Panda Productions owed millions of Lire to creditors all over Italy. According to the Press, royalties had not been paid throughout the tour; the rights had been withdrawn after the first Paris production because of non-payment; Panda Productions owed £20,000 to a sound company, owed £9,000 to a travel agency for air and train tickets and owed thousands of pounds in unpaid wages to current and former members of the “Rocky” Company recruited from the UK and all over Europe.
Because no programmes were printed and no official cast-lists exist, it is not possible to give a full listing of performers and crew in this disastrous tour. Some names that are known include:
Cast: Kevin Austin Ben Burt Adam Caine Samantha Carr Julia Cotton Veronique Desmadryl Jon Emmanuel Julie Faye Neil France Richard Franklin Joseph Gorgoni Michelle Hatch Susannah Kenton David Lyndon Nina Marshall Jonathan Marshall Florence Martinet Robert McCullough Ita O’Brien Julian Ochyra Guy Picot Alison Pollard David Ruffin Martin Ryan Mark Sell Marc Seymour Sean Sprackling Zane Stanley Gertrude Thoma Mark Turnbull Stephanie Vanider-Hill Tim Willis
Technical & Crew Simon Cotton Brendan Darlington Dave Emery Pieter Fink Joachim Grindel Danny Gruczkun Matthew Jensen Andy Shaw Ines Stolte Dawn Thomas David Thomas Mila van Pelt Dave Wells
Musicians Alan Griffiths Billy Oliver Pete Parkinson Ed Robinson II Phil Waddington
(All the information on this “rogue” Rocky was supplied by people directly involved. It is a shortened version of written evidence compiled in 1991 as part of a claim against Panda Productions. The written submissions were backed up with a number of signatures and agreements to give personal evidence before a Tribunal. Because the company was registered in Germany and clearly had no funds at all, and because no Equity or Musicians Union contracts has been issued, the claim was not pursued and therefore was not proved. It must therefore be treated as one side of the story)
Please note :Paul Barnard's European tour of "Rocky" was in NO WAY ASSOCIATED with the long-running and successful Scala Theatre/Broadway Musical Theater Company "Rocky" tour which ran between 1988 and 1990 in various European cities. That production was based in Basle, Switzerland and directed by Johnny Worthy. It may well have had its own stories to tell, but the cast were always paid properly and on time and it was a very good show.
|
Narrator - Vivyan Ellacott
A new tour was proposed for 1986. Again it was not known how long the tour would
run – this would depend on the number of theatres that would take a return visit
from RHS. A new touring contract was drawn up : The KMT/Hanley production would
continue to have exclusive UK touring rights for the foreseeable future – but if
at any point there was a gap of four consecutive weeks with no performances, the
rights would be withdrawn. The 1986 tour opened at Hanley on 1st February 1986.
The KMT Team had expressed concern that “Rocky” – originally intended as a “small”
show with just nine characters and one set – was now playing some of the largest
theatres in the country. They felt the show was sometimes dwarfed by its surroundings.
It needed to expand in style to fill some of these bigger stages.
One of the peculiarities of the 1987 touring schedule was the listing: Manchester,
Bromley, Tel-Aviv, Peterborough! “Rocky” was booked for three weeks in Israel. This
didn’t count as part of the UK tour, and although Israel wanted the show for longer,
it was still not possible to miss more than four weeks in the UK. The Israeli rights
were not held by Richard O’Brien – so this was a quite separate venture from the
main tour.
The show played the Cinerama in Tel-Aviv. This was a large circular building used
chiefly as a disco. The show was billed to start at 9pm. The earliest it ever started
was 9.45 – and one night it didn’t start till 10.15. On the Saturday nights there
was a midnight matinee – but the first show was still running as midnight struck.
The Israelis seem to care little for timing.
The latter half of 1987 saw problems at the Theatre Royal, Hanley. There were accusations
of fraud and mis-management. Paul Barnard was dismissed for alleged VAT irregularities.
The Chairman of the Hanley Board, Charles Deacon, took over the day-to-day management
of the “Rocky” tour. 
HANLEY, Theatre Royal
For the European Tour the Company Manager was Jackie Dook, the Stage Manager, Mark
Sherwood, the DSM Jerry Gunn, and the ASM Gareth Tyrrell. 
