Frank N Furter's thrilled to bring faithful sausage dog to town

TOURING with his sausage dog Beatrice, the lead actor of The Rocky Horror Show cannot wait to bring her and his sexy show to Grimsby.

Oliver Thornton, who plays Frank N Furter in the naughtiest musical around, will be stopping off at the Grimsby Auditorium with his beloved dog, who is also a star in her own right backstage.

The huge flamboyant musical by Richard O'Brien will come to the 1,200 seater venue on Monday, March 18, to Saturday, March 23.

Oliver told the Grimsby Telegraph: "I take Beatrice everywhere with me on tour and she enjoys visiting different places.

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"She is very much a city dog, so I am sure she will enjoy a walk at Cleethorpes beach for a change, she doesn't see the sea very often.

"Beatrice is as much as a star as the show and everyone loves her backstage!"

Nearly baring all in front of thousands on stage is scary for any actor ... and Oliver not only strips, but cross-dresses, too, in suspenders and underwear.

Oliver, who describes himself as a "sensitive" person said: "I'm a naturally shy person, and when I come off stage with hardly anything on I feel really conscious.

"When I'm on stage it is a totally different thing. I am hiding behind a character so I don't feel nervous at all when I strip off and wear women's clothes!

"Frank is such an iconic role and it's shocking when I whip off my cape and don a basque and high heels. The audience goes crazy and loves Frank because he is so many things – horrible, sexual and loving. This is why I enjoy playing the role."

Oliver said he was surprised when he got the role of Frank because he is younger than most of the actors who have previously played him.

"People who follow The Rocky Horror said they have not seen a Frank like me before – because I am something different, with an essence of Frank."

Oliver, from South Wales, has visited the Grimsby Auditorium before with Andrew Lloyd Webber's Starlight Express in 2008 and he describes Rocky as a "very different show to most".

"It is so interactive with the audience. It is wonderful and something I have never experienced before," he explained.

"It's a fun show and it's not like most live musicals because it shouldn't be taken as seriously as the traditional ones!"

Oliver, who began his stage education at the top Mount View Academy, in London, said it prepared him for the tough world of being on stage.

"Mount View really taught me everything I need to know about the business," he said.

"After the tour I want to make it at New York's Broadway – it's always been a dream of mine.

"But I will always be coming back to London where I'm based."

Oliver's talents don't stop at performing – he writes for a successful fashion interiors blog called Design For Living.

"I started the blog off by accident, really, and now it has turned into a beast that needs to be handled," said Oliver.

"It keeps me busy though and I have a real passion for fashion and interiors."

Performances of The Rocky Horror Show are 8pm Monday to Thursday, and Friday and Saturday 5.30pm and 8.30pm.

Tickets cost from £10 to £29.50. To book tickets, call 0844 871 3016 or visit www.atgtickets.com