Jasmine Storm is speaking with Lauren Chia who plays Janet – damnit!
JS: Thank you for taking the time to speak with me.
LC: No worries. Thank you for having me.
JS: What was it that attracted you to the Rocky Horror Show and were you a (Frankie) fan before you joined the cast?
LC: So, I didn’t know loads about the show. My brother is a huge fan and he introduced me to the film. I was always aware of productions going around touring, and thought I would love to go and watch that one day and get dressed up – it sounds like it would be such a fun night. It was always on my list of things to do, and I have always wanted to go. Then when the audition came up and I got the part, I couldn’t believe it. So, I still have yet to experience being in the audience. When I finish the show, one day I will definitely go and watch a production of it because it’s just so much fun. I see people in the audience having the time of their lives, it would be a great atmosphere to be a part of it.
JS: And if you were in the audience, which character would you dress up as?
LC: This is an easy answer. I’m obsessed with Riff Raff. I actually went as Riff Raff for Halloween. Job Greuter, who plays Riff Raff at the moment, and I did a character swap. We had a Halloween party and he dressed as Janet and I dressed as Riff Raff.
JS: that’s fantastic!
LC: It was hilarious!
JS: I want to see those photos!
LC: I ordered a wig, a blonde one, it didn’t turn up in time and I didn’t know what I was going to do. It was the day of the party – all the rest of the costume was there but I didn’t have a wig. I got some silver white hairspray paint for my hair and gelled it all back and just sprayed it all. I am naturally very, very dark, so trying to cover my natural hair colour, and it was such an effort to get it out. It took over an hour trying to get it out again. It was a fun night and I just love Riff Raff – he is my favourite character in the whole show.
JS: Rocky Horror has a symbiotic relationship with the audience. Do you enjoy the call outs and what is the most memorable line /favourite line that has been shouted out? I am sure there are some you cannot disclose.
LC: yeah. I was gonna say I am probably gonna get in trouble if I say some of the ones that we get. My favourite one is a random one. It’s when Magenta says ‘When do we return to Transylvania?’ and the audience shouts out ‘Next Wednesday’. Both laugh. It’s just so random but because some of the shout outs are explicit, I like this because its so innocent. That’s one of my favourites. It did take a while to get used to. I have never seen the show so didn’t understand that was a thing. So, when I got the job, and did all the script work, Chris (Luscombe - director) said people are gonna shout out and I said What?!! In the final rehearsals, just before we made it on stage, the director said I am gonna start calling a few out so we did the well-known popular ones that people have been doing for years. In the end you just need to get an actual audience because it’s going to be so different every night. It’s so unpredictable because sometimes the usual ones that are always there and sometimes you get some really obscure ones you’ve never heard before. It did take quite a while to get used to. At first, I was still trying to remember my words, it was quite distracting. But now I love it and if they don’t do it, I am a bit disappointed. I like the quiet audiences, but I love it when everyone is so wild - it’s so exhilarating. It’s so much fun for us on stage.
JS: Have you ever corpsed by something that was shouted out?
LC: Absolutely. I corpsed just the other day. I can’t remember what the line was
but it so random and I’d never heard it before, and it was like a really quiet
moment as well when they shouted it out and I couldn’t stop laughing. It’s quite
bad actually. Me and Connor who plays Brad are quite well known for being the
biggest corpsers. We’ve been playing opposite Jason Donovan, as our Frank,
and he loves to make us laugh. We will get in trouble one day, I’m sure.
JS: I think you can get away with it in this show, this is not a serious show. You
can absolutely get away with that.
LC: There are new lines every single day. Especially in regional cities, there are
so many I have never even heard before. I thought I’d heard them all but you
really haven’t. laughs
JS: What’s your favourite song from the show and why?
LC: My favourite song generally to listen to is Frankenstein’s Place because I
love Riff Raff’s bit in the castle. I love hearing Job do it every night – he is
absolutely outstanding. My favourite show in the show to perform is actually
Eddie’s Teddy. I never even heard of that song until I went to rehearsals and
learnt it. The reason I like it is because everyone is all on stage together,
especially for Janet because I am on stage the whole time. I don’t get to see
much of the cast. So, when everyone’s on together it’s really special. I quite like
that one. There is not one that I dislike either. I look forward to doing all of
them.
JS they are fabulous songs.
JS: Do you have any tattoos?
LC: I don’t! no. I always wanted to but I actually I change my mind quite a lot. Even my style changes daily. Sometimes I look like a fairy princess and the next minute I come out looking like an emo/grungy. I think if I got a tattoo, it would have to be something really special and meaningful to me. I will one day. I am undecided at the moment
JS: Time Warp is a classic. If you could go back in time, where would you go?
LC: I feel like the fifties would be really exciting, you know when Elvis started that
would be such a cool time experiencing that. I also think the sixties as well, with
fashion and girls started wearing the miniskirts and started to rebel a little bit, it
seems such an exciting time.
JS: Sounds like your next show could be Hairspray!
LC: Yes, that’s true. I love music from all eras actually. The seventies would be
really cool as well. Disco – that’s when my parents were going out. That’s the
music I grew up on. There’s too many actually. Those ones would be pretty cool.
JS: As a fan, are there any backstage secrets that you can tell me?
LC: I have one. You know the bedroom scene at the top of act two, I’m in the
bed with Frank, I come off and I am waiting behind the bed, while brad is doing
his bit with Frank. And in that scene Frank is wearing a wig to make him appear
like he was Janet. Brad whips the wig off and realises its Frank. So, he has to
throw the wig through slash in the curtain behind the bed. Me and Job who plays
Riff Raff - we are waiting behind there for the next scene and we have a tally of
who catches the wig.
JS: laughing oh that’s so much fun!
LC: We do that every show. We did it up to New Year and then started afresh. I
won the last one. Now it’s until the end of the contract. It could go on
and on and on. So far, I’m in the lead. I’m pretty happy with that.
JS: Congratulations. both laugh
JS: What do you think of the longevity of the success of Rocky Horror? Will we still be wearing fishnet stockings to celebrate its 100th year?
LC: I really do. The show is so ahead of its time when it came out. The message
is don’t dream it – be it and I think you can really connect and relate to that. In
society all the pressures that are put on you, Brad and Janet represent what you
are supposed to be – what is expected of you. They finish the show as
completely different people. I love that. I love that I get to play a character like
that. It shows a mirror on society, and how the expectations of how you should
act. And really you can be whoever you want to be. That’s why people love going
to watch the show because there is such a sense of family and a welcoming. You
can go there and dress however you want to dress, you can call out, you know,
there are no restrictions and I think that’s what’s so special about the show.
That’s why it’s done so well and why it will continue to keep going. And we owe
it all to our incredible fans of the show too, the fact they are still so loyal and
still love coming. The music is so good. You can’t go and not have a good time. I
really do think it will be here forever. I’d be sad if it isn’t. I wanna go and watch it.
JS: that’s a fantastic answer. It’s been so lovely speaking to you Lauren.
The Rocky Horror Show is at Milton Keynes Theatre from 10-15 February 2025.
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