It’s astounding – time really is fleeting. In 1975, a spark from Australia’s creative underground ignited a wildfire of rebellion, expression and belonging. Fifty years on, The Rocky Horror Picture Show still pulses with the same energy, testament to both the wild, loud powerhouses behind its genius, and the rituals that have become folded into the film’s very being.
Who gets to belong?
Australia in the 1970s was on the cusp of radical change, grappling with ideas of self-expression, gender, identity and sexuality. Into this upheaval burst a strange and irreverent little stage musical – part sanctuary, part provocation – with a cheeky ‘How ya doing?’
Directed by Jim Sharman with a crew of Australian creative rebels along for the ride – designer Brian Thomson, performer Nell Campbell as Columbia, editor Graeme Clifford and casting director Hilary Linstead – The Rocky Horror Show (with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien) built a new kind of family at a time where being different often meant exclusion.
From the moment audiences stepped into Dr Frank-N-Furter’s castle, when it opened at London's Royal Court Theatre in 1973, Rocky Horror celebrated the outsider. It offered people a place to be themselves, challenging sexual and social norms in ways that resonated deeply with queer audiences. In his NFSA Oral History interview, Sharman reflects: ‘… it has become the adopted mythology of the different, the excluded and odd.’
Jim Sharman reflects on the enduring legacy of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). Jim Sharman interviewed by Sean O'Brien, 2022. NFSA title: 1691138
The acceptance of self-expression at the heart of Rocky Horror pioneered a new kind of moviegoing experience when Sharman's screen adaptation – now titled The Rocky Horror Picture Show – hit UK cinemas on 14 August 1975. Audiences didn’t sit back and watch – they joined in. They dressed up, shouted back lines and danced in the aisles. Midnight screenings became wild, interactive rituals where chaos and Transylvania reigned side by side.
That communal spirit is captured in the now-legendary group-dance track ‘Time Warp’. Written in a single evening in O’Brien’s kitchen, it combined music, lyrics and steps into one gleefully anarchic anthem. Nell Campbell recalls in her NFSA Oral History interview: ‘The next day we all just … joined in. There was no counting – you just felt it.’
Nell Campbell talks about the birth of the 'Time Warp' and her star turn as the tap-dancing character Columbia in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). Nell Campbell interviewed by Sean O'Brien, 2022. NFSA title: 1666969
The rhythm of rebellion
It’s impossible to separate the success of The Rocky Horror Picture Show from its roots in the vibrant and weird Australian creative underground. A loving ode to the sci-fi films of the past combined with over-the-top glittering camp – an aesthetic that was born from the mind of Brian Thomson – the film doesn’t just invite you to step out of the ordinary, it demands it, with an audaciousness that shows off an irreverence for authority and love of the outsider.
In this clip, Christopher Malcolm reflects on the humble beginnings of Rocky Horror, which was conceived and created in London by four non-Englishmen – Sharman, O'Brien, Thomson and himself. The clip includes footage of the film's cast performing the signature song 'Time Warp'. Malcolm also offers a producer's insight into why the stage show continues to be a success:
Producer Christopher Malcolm discusses the humble beginnings of The Rocky Horror Show. Excerpt from Time Warp: 25 Years of Rocky Horror (Foxtel Productions, 1998). NFSA title: 1046005
Along with 'Time Warp, 'Sweet Transvestite' is the best-known song from Rocky Horror. In this clip, Daniel Abineri gives an over-the-top camp performance, complete with sequinned corset and fishnet stockings, transcending the cramped imitation of the stage set in The Mike Walsh Show studio. To see the song showcased on daytime television in 1981 speaks to Rocky Horror's mainstream awareness and crossover success:
Daniel Abineri as Dr Frank-N-Furter on The Mike Walsh Show, Episode 1179, 1981. Courtesy: Mike Walsh AM, OBE Hayden Productions. NFSA title: 1160033
Don’t judge a book by its cover
Fifty years later, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the longest-running theatrical release in history.
Around the world, audiences are still pulling their knees in tight, throwing toast at the screen and inducting new fans into its joyful chaos.
More than a film, Rocky Horror is a home for the odd, the othered, the different – a place where breaking the mould is celebrated and expanding your worldview is part of the fun.
From the streets of Sydney to London’s stages and cinemas worldwide, it has left an indelible mark on popular culture – one with a distinctly larrikin grin.
Say, do any of you guys know how to Madison?
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Main image: The original cast of The Rocky Horror Show posing on stage, from left to right: Columbia (played by Little Nell), Magenta (Patricia Quinn), Dr Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry) and Riff Raff (Richard O'Brien, also creator). Production directed by Jim Sharman
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