By Anna Barlow
Under this town’s watchful eye, it is easy to feel surveyed, but every year, under the flashing stage lights and to the iconic Time Warp tune, students are given a space to push the boundaries of self-expression. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a staple theatrical fixture in the St Andrews calendar; a space where dressing up in golden shorts, fishnet tights, and a muscle suit is unremarkably remarkable. Following its annual run over the Halloween weekend at the Byre Theatre, third-year English student Isobel Prothero spoke to HASTA about her experience in the production as Rocky.
Rocky Horror at the Byre 2026.
Image Courtesy of Isobel Prothero.
The house operated in seamless tandem with the production, creating an immersive space where both actors and audience members alike were active agents in the narrative. Whether you were a returning audience member or branded as a Rocky Virgin, with a vivid lipstick red ‘V’ , everyone is in on it - no one is scrutinised. This is precisely what places self-expression at centre stage.
Such openness is built into the set, designed to be minimal and adaptable, so that any kind of episode onstage can stand in for any and every space in the film. St Andrews’ Rocky Horror takes the traditional shadow-casting approach whereby actors’ mime, sing, dance, and even contort themselves into cars, to echo the film playing behind them. It is not, however, about reenacting a film live on stage; Isobel Prothero explains, it is rather “about creating a liminal space where the directorial and choreographic vision can freely move in and out of areas of the castle.” In this way, the design allows actors to dynamically move around the space, unrestrained. Thus, a parallel is created: social limits are removed by the audience, and physical constraints are removed by the set.
Isobel went on to praise the set design, “especially the painted railings and the sheet which was backlit to create really cool shadows,” which, I noted, allowed many of the intimacy scenes to be conveyed via silhouette. The minimal set meant the film and the actors’ energy were in balanced focus, and audience was a mediator to glue together any grey area with willing imagination and participation.
“Audience participation is perhaps the most exciting part of Rocky for everyone involved,” says Isobel. Since the shows midnight revival in the mid-1970s, Rocky Horror has been inherently reliant on trust and acceptance between audience and cast, with standardised callouts and prop-throwing cues.
“The pre-show creates a very level playing field, where the audience is invited to express themselves and enjoy the same liberation which the actors hopefully feel on stage.” Even before the curtain opens, a precedent is set for joint participation. Everyone knows their job from the get-go.
Rocky Horror at the Byre 2026.
Image Courtesy of Isobel Prothero.
Participation is not only for today's audience, but a recognition of a collective ritual inherited over the five decades that Rocky Horror has been performed. “The call outs also stitch every performance into the long line of performances gone by. I think it’s such a validating and, also, humbling reminder for the performers that we are there to express ourselves but to deliver roles and lines which are fundamental to a long line of audiences’ own self-discovery and expression.” Perhaps the power of Rocky Horror lies therefore in a paradox, you gain autonomy and self-expression by joining a community and cultural tradition.
Isobel went on to share how she and many of the performers gained self-expression through their roles, “When I took the role of Rocky, I couldn’t have fathomed that I’d have any great epiphanies throughout the process. I was wildly mistaken… For me, it was incredibly liberating to experiment with both masculinity and femininity in my makeup, hair and costume. Shows like Rocky give you that breadth.”
“I think is the most valuable thing about Rocky Horror is that I never at any point felt out of place, or at risk of being judged. St Andrews needs these spaces where you undeniably grow in confidence, but on your own terms.”
Rocky Horror is enjoyed so much in a town like St Andrews not only because it encourages performance, but because it refuses judgement even more loudly. Isobel’s insight demonstrates the value that theatrical spaces pose in this small town, where market street at 11am can feel like a runway-show for the latest trends, having a space to be yourself is invaluable.