Interview: Creature’s Cabaret

Photo Credit: @shepyphoto (Instagram)

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a timeless, quickly musical horror which has grown into a classic stage production ever since its release back in 1975. The live performances are legendary, with audiences typically dressing as their favourite characters and becoming as much a part of the show as the performers. Excitingly for us in the North-East, a multi-talented Newcastle based collective of creatives & performers are taking things one step further.

After the success of October 2024’s interactive show, this April’s edition is the first brought to you by Creature’s Cabaret, as this collection of ghouls look to spread their own brand of chaos across the North-East. We caught up with them ahead of their show on Friday 1st April at Salt Market Social, North Shields to hear about their plans for the Rocky Horror spectacular, and beyond.

Who are the people behind Creatures Cabaret?
Baron LaVey, Newcastle’s premier Drag King, performing in drag since 2007.
Vehement Vamp, the spooky & kooky burlesque Morticia of Studio 54, Newcastle via the dancefloor.
Xena Rose, the Burlesque Ballerina of Newcastle with a bite of vintage glam.

What inspired you to create Creatures Cabaret and how did you come up with the idea?
After producing our second Rocky Horror together and selling it out again for the second time, we knew the importance and need for spaces in Newcastle in which audiences and performers could interact, where people could embrace the unusual, and at the heart of it, for spaces in which LGBTQIA+ and neurodivergent performers like ourselves and our audiences are safe to be themselves.
We also LOVE being able to work with our friends, it’s like a free show every time we get to work with each other. We get so much joy in watching each other perform! The respect and trust we have for each other really supports our creative ideas to flourish. We really found a home in each other, and want to create shows for people who need that safe space too.
So in early 2025, we decided we absolutely needed to bring our passion and our friendship, our camp and our chaos, our spooky and our kooky, alongside our all-encompassing drag, burlesque and cosplay backgrounds, to don’t just dream it but actually be it! We’re all creatures of the night, whether it be VV out raving or Xena late night costume making or Baron filming as Sister Imperator for GhostCon, so it just came naturally to bring our ADHD delayed circadian rhythms together with Rocky Horror to name ourselves Creatures Cabaret!

What was missing from Newcastle’s burlesque & drag scene that made you want to launch Creatures’ Cabaret?
It’s more about what we wanted to see more of, especially in bringing together different cabaret styles like drag, burlesque and cosplay. We really wanted to create a space where those worlds could unite and perform together in a cohesive and supportive way. You see all those art forms together in Rocky Horror itself, right from Frank-n-Furter’s drag through to the iconic floor show burlesque (and we love the free nips sans tassels in those scenes!), and let’s not forget Magenta and Riff Raff are essentially cosplaying as humans! This ethos of Rocky will reflect everything we do to add to the Newcastle scene.

What’s the story behind its formation and how do you know each other?
We can really credit Xena for this one! Our Creatures mother if you will! Xena had a vision of us doing Rocky Horror, and reached out to me because of my already established Frank-n-Furter! I was aware of Xena through local cosplay, and from her frequenting our Drag Castle shows at Prohibition (RIP). When Xena asked me to join her first Rocky Horror shadowcast just a few days after I had undergone surgery, I couldn’t say no! (Baron)

I met Xena when she was dancing at an alternative night in Newcastle. She truly was my cabaret fairy godmother. I started burlesque because of Xena, something I had always loved, but after losing myself, had never even considered. Xena found us both in these really dark difficult moments and through kindness and cabaret, she brought the joy back into our lives, and brought us all together. And the rest is rhinestones! (Vv)

What projects have you done together so far?
We’ve performed Rocky Horror twice, and Xena performed at Baron’s Drag Castle’s iconic show at Newcastle castle last year! Vv is performing with Baron at the upcoming Drag Castle “Shake It Out” show at the Cluny – Sunday 3rd May (tickets on sale now!)

How does a show like the Rocky Horror fit with the idea behind Creatures Cabaret?
We are creatures of the night, superheroes, and unconventional conventionists at heart! (also see above mentioned in the missing from Newcastle question answer!)

Are there any local groups/performers who have inspired you in setting up Creatures Cabaret?
Drag Castle has shown us all that you can bring high camp, humour, talent and friendship together to create entertainment, have a strong message, and have fun! Harriet and Tom who have created Holme Festival are wonderful inspirations in what they have created with their festival. They’ve shown how genuine joy and connections are created amongst art, where audiences and performers are safe to be themselves, and how this has built a genuine and supportive community. With Creatures Cabaret we want to bring all of those elements together, to create shows and spaces where audiences can connect and be joyful in their shared, interactive experiences!

What does a show like the Rocky Horror mean to you personally?
Baron – absolutely, there’s not a chance I watched that movie at 3 years old, loving the costumes, makeup, and music, then went into musical theatre and cabaret and for it to have not had an influence on me. I think it might even be the REASON I perform!
Vv – As a late diagnosed audhder, I was always misunderstood and bullied when I was young. Add in arriving from the womb spooky and kooky, and well, I was always the freak. I truly was an alien. Magenta shares my humour, my seductive spooky kookiness, and despite her chaos (hello adhd), she’s fiercely loyal (everyone who knows me knows I always stand up for social injustice). And of course, not to forget, she is an alien! When Xena told me she wanted me to play Magenta, I couldn’t have resonated with a character more!
Xena – finding burlesque and cosplay allowed me to be myself, finally, after growing up feeling like the outsider. My character’s story (Janet) really speaks to that liberation and empowerment I have found in my own life!

How many Rocky Horror performances have you been in before, and what makes this one different?
This will be our third one together, reprising our roles as Janet (Xena Rose), Frank-n-Further (Baron LaVey) and Magenta (Vehement Vamp), but our first officially as Creatures Cabaret! And this time you’ll see Baron’s Drag Castle joining us as cast members too, with Ivy as Riff Raff and Frida Sapphic as our quadruple threat (Usherette, The Criminologist, Eddie, Dr Scott)!! It’s really special to be able to bring all our friends together for the show. This is also our first collaboration with Salt Market Social, we really do have to thank them in being wonderful partners for this show. They’ve gave us the artistic freedom to bring to life what we’ve been envisaging for a long time, and we really appreciate the trust and support they’ve had for us. So for this show, we’ve been able to create the intimacy that you should always have with Rocky Horror. It means we’ve also been able to start the experience right on entry to Salt Market, and we’re excited to have Gareth Gray warming up the night with his dirty disco before the show starts to make sure no one comes in dry!

How does the interactive element work on stage?
We play to the audience and break that fourth wall to interact directly with them. It creates a full experience, as you don’t just have the cast on stage with the film, but you have cast members right there in the audience making the whole floor the stage! This is where our burlesque backgrounds really enhance the show, we really do know how to tease that audience antici…pation! The layout of the venue really gives us the freedom to be right in the audience throughout the show and create an intimate experience. So you never know, we might just be sat right next to you!

What advice would you give to any Virgins who might be coming to the show this April?
Don’t dream it, be it (just don’t be a divvy!). Ignore ‘cringe culture’. Here you have the safety and freedom to truly be yourself. Your community is here. And remember, you’ve arrived on a rather special night…!

What are your memories of previous years’ interactive screening/performances?
The audience make these shows for us. Their reactions, their cheers, the singing, the call-backs. That they’ve taken the time out of their lives to let us entertain them and have fun with us!
And, especially, each other. There are so many moments where not everyone is on stage/interacting in the audience and we can, as the show is live, take those moments to be mesmerised by each other’s performances. We get emotional and have those pinch me moments! We see Xena look around and glow with pride, being the cabaret mother who brought us all together. And Vv always tears up during Baron’s finale song “I’m Going Home”, which is actually pretty funny because this is Baron’s least favourite song haha! It’s in the awe of everyone’s performances, knowing WOW we created this, we did this, and seeing the joy we have brought to so many people where we know outside of this the safety to be themselves often won’t be a reality. Maybe that’s why “I’m going home” really hits hard…in a world where being neurodivergent is labelled “overdiagnosed”, where being LGBTQIA+ is illegal, where being working class Northern millenials meant we didn’t have the guidance to consider artistry as a job prospect and not just a hobby when we were young, but here, we have all found home. We’re not dreaming it, we’re being it. And we’re creating spaces for our audiences to do that too.

What is it about the Rocky Horror that keeps it relevant after more than 50 years?
We often wonder, would the cast of 1973 think the themes it was vocalising then, the rebellion against repression, standing up for the legalisation of LGBTAI+, sexual liberation, still be crimes today? Rocky Horror has the ability to champion self expression, gender fluidity, sexual freedom and identity in a way that STILL feels freeing today. It challenges the rigid norms that society still pushes. On top of that, it creates community through participation. You don’t just watch Rocky Horror, you become a part of it. In a world where queerness is increasingly unacceptable, these community screenings are safe places where you can be who you want to be! If anything, in the face of the horrors of the world in 2026, Rocky Horror is more relevant, more important, and more needed than ever.