BWW INTERVIEWS: Richard Meek, Who Returns As Brad In THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW

Hi, Richard, and welcome to BWW:UK. First of all, congratulations on your return to the cast. Are you excited to be going back on tour?

I’m very, very excited. It’s been one of my absolute favourite shows that I’ve done. The sensation you get and the reaction you get is unlike anything else. I’ve been talking to a lot of people who are in the new cast, and everyone agrees – it’s the floorshow, it’s that slider moment that you think about when you remember that show. I couldn’t be happier about going back to it.

Obviously you were on the last tour, and then they went out again – same production, but with some different cast members. Were you disappointed not to be part of that?

Yes, I was. I only did six months last time, and that was the last six months of a year-and-a-half-long tour. With something like that, I felt like I wasn’t finished, so I was a bit disappointed. But then as it happened, I’ve been to Mexico and I’ve done a great panto in Horsham, come back and had a little holiday just in time to start again. I’m so pleased with the way it’s panned out.

How many of the main cast have you worked with before, then?

Just the three – Nathan Amzi, David Bedella and Stuart Ellis, and a lot of the crew are the same, and a couple of guys in the band. I visited them when I went to do the poster, and I watched, and it kind of feels a bit scary when you’re the only person going in. At cast change last time, I think there were about five of us. So the bonds and friendships had been made, but a lot of people were leaving, and you make those friendships through the rehearsal process. This time, it’s just little old me. I’m a bit nervous about finding my clique and my friends again!

Was it strange seeing the show again?

It was strange, because before I did it the first time I hadn’t even seen the film, so I didn’t know the songs – well, obviously I knew the Timewarp, because everyone’s been to a disco, so everyone knows that. So we had to watch it once before we started, and I was gobsmacked, and thought how could I have not known about this? There’s one swearword in the whole show, and that’s said by Frank in Planet Schmanet Janet...

Well, there’s one swearword in the book. There are more in the audience responses!

Yeah. It’s shocking! I remember we were all sitting there in a line – Sarah French-Ellis, Katie Funk, and people like that, Matt Harrop – and it got to the bed scene at the beginning of Act 2 and everyone just leaned forward and stared at me. I was like, my family have got to see this! And I got that again this time, but it just looks great. David’s added some little bits which are cracking me up, and I can’t wait – there are tweaks in the choreography, only subtle things, but they are amazing. To see it again was amazing too; I’m so glad I’ve got the chance.

You mention David making you laugh – the danger of corpsing must always be there when you’re doing this show, particularly with the audience responses which are often intended to make you laugh.

Absolutely. I’m very thankful that I saw the show before I went in the first time, because having been in the audience and listened to the shout-outs you know it all comes from a good place 99 per cent of the time, it’s all for fun. So when you’re up there you know that it’s part of that, and you work on with that. If I hadn’t watched it, I’d have been absolutely petrified. In terms of corpsing, I laugh a lot with David. I’ve corpsed in the bed before. I’m concerned that I’ll do that again now that there’s been a few tweaks, because I really, really laughed when I watched it! I’ll find it hard to pull it together.

Where are you off to on tour?

Leicester, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Bristol, Torquay, Cambridge, Oxford, Belfast...all those places! We’re off and beyond. When I was in Joseph I did three different places in Ireland, but never Belfast, so I’m really excited about that.

You did lots of bits and pieces last year, starting off with Austentatious.

Which was one of my favourite things I have ever done. It was just up my street. It was like being in a French and Saunders or Victoria Wood sketch – that joy of being able to play an ordinary person in a crap show and it all going wrong. That was my dream job. I loved every minute of it – the cast, the music – and I just wish for bigger and better things for that show.

There was talk about a possible transfer.

Yes, there was interest from the Trafalgar Studios, but it didn’t work out in terms of funding. But who knows? There’s a touring life in it, that show.

Then you went to Mexico.

That was amazing. Despite the trauma of learning nine shows in twelve days, generally with hindsight it was beautiful – singing and sunbathing.

So it was like being a Redcoat without having to run the kids’ clubs or camp activities?

Yes. Redcoat without duties. It was come in, soundcheck, sing 45 minutes in a five-star resort, and then go home to your apartment in Cancun. I loved it.

Then it was straight back here and into panto, Cinderella, in Horsham with Mr Tumble (CBeebies presenter Justin Fletcher).

I thought it was Bumble till someone corrected me. He was wonderful, and as charming as he is funny – hilarious. I used to watch him from the wings. I really loved that panto – great MD (Michael Bradley), great cast, great director. I could have carried for another two or three weeks, and I think everyone felt like that. We broke all records there – 98 per cent sold throughout the whole run.

If I made you choose one part that you wanted to play in the next two years, Rocky aside, what would you pick?

That’s a tough one. I feel a bit clichéd, but I’d love to be Marius in Les Mis. It’s just one of those standard things that you sing as a boy – Empty Chairs At Empty Tables.

Like girls sing On My Own.

Exactly. It sounds so lame to say it, though! I’d love to do something new, and something amazing. Or! I’d love to be a nun in Sister Act! I’d love to be Patina Miller. I can’t believe I didn’t think of that earlier...

Richard starts back as Brad in The Rocky Horror Show in Leicester on Monday 15th February, and then on tour.

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