Comments for It Was Great When It All Began at http://www.australianstage.com.au , comment 1 to 5 out of 5 comments http://www.australianstage.com.au Sun, 23 Nov 2008 01:07:08 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.australianstage.com.au/blogs/It-Was-Great-When-It-All-Began.html#comment-31 Golly gosh! (another quaint ol' english expression - so there's a clue to my origin). James - thanks for a thought-provoking blog. I first started my relationship with the RHS back in 1974 when, as an awe-struck teenager, I went every friday or saturday night to see the show at the Kings Rd Theatre and I've loved it ever since. I've had the pleasure of meeting some of the original cast & reminiscing about the good old days before Rocky turned into a pantomime - and here's my point about something you wrote. If RO'B and the Rocky Horror Company interfered late on in rehearsals, as you say, I can only believe it was to protect the integrity/look and feel of the show. I understand that Richard only stamped his authority (and name!) on the show after it had morphed into something far removed from the original. I can imagine that directors & producers, given free reign, would want to put something of themselves into a new production but in so doing they inevitably change the original. One could argue that's a good thing but it seems that Rocky had moved far from what Richard intended. In the Uk in the 80's it became a camped-up pantomime and the Big 30 show was hated by fans for being way over-produced. One of the raw ingredients of Rocky is PRECISELY how raw, edgy, down & dirty it was to start with - so if Richard is protecting that then all power to him I say. I hasten to say that I haven't seen the Australian production, much as I'd like to, but I am consuming as much of it as I can from the web and from those who have seen it. I do, however, agree with your comments about credits. I personally don't see the harm in mentioning them. On another topic, please could you contact me via my private email address as there's something I'd like to discuss with you. Cheers (another quaint idiom!) - Phil Wed, 02 Apr 2008 18:51:04 +0100 http://www.australianstage.com.au/blogs/It-Was-Great-When-It-All-Began.html#comment-30 Hi Lenny well that's the trouble - I could have put up a heap of rare pics - but the net is the net and they will fly around the world. I just wanted to show readers I do know the Rocky back story pretty well and have indeed collected heaps of documentation. Even some pages of the first draft script which actually has another writer's name on it along with O'Brien's. That other writer's name was whited out on subsequent photocopies. I said nothing of this in my piece because from what I understand the other 'writer' did not contribute much, even to the scraps of ideas that were first presented. There is a chance a book might come out with many more pics down the track - but I need to get a publisher and find the strength to write a tome. That book would not be exclusively about Rocky - and I can't say any more now. Where are you from Lenny? Nor many people say 'good lord' in Australia. And I presume you don't mean it in the Shakespearean sense. You can just call me James - lol - j waites Fri, 28 Mar 2008 07:35:26 +0100 http://www.australianstage.com.au/blogs/It-Was-Great-When-It-All-Began.html#comment-29 good lord! Where did you get those pictures! Where might I get some (more)??? - Lenny Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:10:48 +0100 http://www.australianstage.com.au/blogs/It-Was-Great-When-It-All-Began.html#comment-28 Thanks Tom, yr right - the notion of who the 'writer' of a work for the stage really is - is a debate in itself. To me, at its core, theatre is created each night in a unique partnership between actors and that evening's audience. All other artists, siginficant though their contributions are, are affiliate producers (word-smith, director, designers etc). A conversation worth pursuing? What got me going on this occasion was less theoretical - more to do with a mean spirit taken to the nth degree, and historical distortion through professional slackness among others in the commentary trade. Meanwhile still workng on frontpage of this site so alerts to new blog entries by different writers will be easier access - sorry for current confusions but all should be worked out soon. JW - j waites Fri, 21 Mar 2008 21:21:13 +0100 http://www.australianstage.com.au/blogs/It-Was-Great-When-It-All-Began.html#comment-27 Bravo James. One of the rules of theatre is that, as far as our logocentric media are concerned, the 'writer' owns everything, whether they want to or not. - tom wright Mon, 17 Mar 2008 14:03:51 +0100