At 50, The Rocky Horror Show looks rather more fit and fabulous than it did aged 40.

A decade ago, with Craig McLachlan in the role of Frank N Furter, the show (which I experienced in this venue) came across like a cheap pantomime, brought low by McLachlan’s relentless showboating. The Rocky brand is Teflon to a large extent, but one imagines O’Brien – who guards his intellectual property fiercely – and the creative team led by director Christopher Luscombe saw the necessity in a hard reboot.

Jason Donovan as Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Show. Photo © Daniel Boud

Beginning in Sydney, this “50th anniversary” tour production (the anniversary of the first Australian Rocky, staged in the near derelict New Arts Theatre in Glebe in 1974) looks and feels rejuvenated – technically and in spirit.

Set design (Hugh Durrant) and lighting (Nick Richings) are immediately impactful, as is the sound of an excellent band which kicks in hard at something approaching rock concert volume.

Jason Donovan is Frank N Furter this time around and he quickly stamps his authority on a show whose dynamics he’s thoroughly schooled in, having starred in...