While watching the Sock ‘n’ Buskin production of The Rocky Horror Show at Kailash Mital Theatre on opening night, something was amiss. As each cast member sang beautifully, various lines were interrupted by a degrading shout-out from an audience member.
“Slut!” “I came on. Where? Janet’s face!”
It recalled the fear that most women, and many men, experience when trying to enjoy public spaces, to only be interrupted by threats and harassment.
Although the mostly student cast accepted and even paused for the audience’s lines, a heavy unease filled the theatre.
Although a traditional participatory audience script that was progressive and subversive at one time in history, it should be retired and updated. It’s a tradition that sits uncomfortably with an audience, and one which caused palpable discomfort amongst a cast of student performers.
This isn’t about political correctness. It’s about being mindful of words that are used to objectify and oppress, and using them in what should be a safe environment — a university campus.
The cries of “slut,” and the abortion jokes, which are potential triggers, do not belong in a contemporary setting.
Most Mayfair-goers know that the cult hit The Room is not perfect with its audience “participaction” script. This being said, the lines generally poke fun at the film’s continuity errors. It makes some ironic slut-shaming jokes to highlight the filmmaker’s blatant misogyny, but they are nowhere near the intensity of The Rocky Horror Show’s audience script. It is rampant with sincere slut-shaming and mockery at the expense of oppressed individuals.
Unfortunately, these types of jokes are no longer progressive, but outdated and sordid.
