JASON Donovan is returning to one of his most famous roles: Frank-N-Furter in Richard O’Brien’s anarchic musical, The Rocky Horror Show. Next stop, Grand Opera House, York, from October 21 to 26.
Why? “In a nutshell, I’m a fan,” says the Australian singer, actor and erstwhile soap star, now 56. “I love the show; I love the music; I love the character. I was touring my own show about five years ago and included Sweet Transvestite from Rocky as a key moment in my musical career. It went down a storm.”
When he read there would be a 50th anniversary production, he emailed producer Howard Panter, saying he would love to be involved. Cue Jason’s Frank-N-Furter, first back home in Australia, in Sydney and Melbourne, and now on a UK tour since mid-August.
Richard O’Brien’s cult musical tribute to horror and science fiction B-movies from the 1930s to the early 1960s tells the story of a newly engaged, clean-cut American college couple Brad and Janet. Caught in a storm, they end up at the gothic Transylvanian lair of mad transvestite scientist, Dr Frank-N-Furter, just in time for the unveiling of his new creation, Rocky, a Frankenstein-style monster complete with blond hair and a tan.
Since 1973, the show has played to 30 million people globally in 20 languages. Now, Jason returns to a role he first played more than 25 years ago. “To be honest, I can’t really remember much about 1998 but that’s another story,” he says. “I don’t feel uncomfortable, though, playing him at 56 – and, of course, I have personal reasons for being grateful to the show.”
The stage manager on that late-1990s’ touring production was a young woman called Angela Malloch. “I’d be backstage waiting to go on, and I’d get chatting to Ange, ” recalls Jason. Friendship turned into romance but the relationship hit the buffers.
Shortly afterwards, however, Angela found out she was pregnant. Ultimatum time. “If the relationship had any chance of working, she told me, and if I was going to have any involvement in the life of our child, I would have to give up the self-indulgent hedonistic lifestyle of the ’90s and take greater control of my life. And I did.”
The couple, who finally married in 2008, have three children: actress Jemma, 24; TV producer Zac, 23, and Molly, still at school, aged 13.
Jason, meanwhile, has gone from small-screen fame as Scott Robinson in the Australian soap Neighbours to chart-topping pop stardom and onwards to musical and theatre roles: Joseph and Pharaoh in Joseph And His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; eccentric inventor Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang; two stints as drag artist Mitzi in Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert The Musical; music mogul Sam Phillips in Million Dollar Quartet, the demon barber himself in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street and Lionel Logue in The King’s Speech.
Dr Frank-N-Furter, above all, occupies a special place in his heart. “One of the reasons I love Rocky is because it’s a short show.” Explain, Jason! “It says everything it needs to say and nothing more. There’s no unnecessary padding. It means nobody gets bored and you leave them wanting more.”
What about climbing into fishnet stockings and high heels seven times a week? “In many ways, very easy, I put on the costume and there’s Frank all over again,” he says. “I’m in touch with my feminine side but I come from a masculine sensibility. The character embraces both sides of me: a strength and a vulnerability, as well as danger and denial.
“Look, I come to the role as an actor. I always dreamed of fronting a rock band and this is about as close as I’ve got. When I put on those high heels, I become that rock’n’roll star. It makes me feel powerful, tall, in charge.
“And audiences love it. As I look out from the stage, I see a beautiful landscape of people wearing outrageous costumes. It’s not hard to see why: in many ways, Rocky is panto for adults. The costumes are just as much a part of the show as the characters and the music.”
Touring surely means wear and tear to his back? “I spend a lot more time in physio these days, something I’ve put in as an appendix in my contract! I’m in my mid-50s. I’m aware of having to look after myself,” he says.
Does that require regular exercise? “Yes, but not obsessively so. Mental health and physical fitness go hand-in-hand for me. This life is a long journey, you hope. My dad gave me the tool of a good work ethic linked to physical activity,” he says.
“I don’t go to the gym: I’m not interested in lifting weights. But I swim. I ride my bike. I stretch. I steam. I do those things more or less on a daily basis. In fact, they’ve become a borderline addiction. And, of course, doing the show is a work-out in itself: I put a lot of energy into my performance.”
Jason says vocals were “never my strongest point back in the day”. “But since Joseph, I’ve worked really hard and through 30 years of strengthening my vocal cords – they’re a muscle like anything else – I’ve become a better singer. Rocky now plays to my strengths, less musical theatre, more edgy, a little bit rock’n’roll. More me really!”
What’s next for Jason post-Rocky? “I’ve got my Doin’ Fine 25 tour. That’s 35 concerts across the UK and Ireland,” he says. “It’s a greatest hits show, a celebration of 35 years of work.” York Barbican awaits next March.
The Rocky Horror Show, Grand Opera House, York, October 21 to 26, Monday to Thursday, 8pm; Friday and Saturday, 5.30pm and 8.30pm. Box office: atgtickets.york.com. Jason Donovan: Doin’ Fine 25, York Barbican, March 8 2025, 8pm. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk
