Marc West treads the boards with the cast of the louche Rocky Horror Show at the New Theatre

First performed on June 19, 1973 at London’s Royal Court Theatre, it has become the world’s favourite rock n’ roll musical – having been performed in over 30 countries over the last 40 years.

However, the tale of squeaky-clean Brad and his high school fiancee Janet’s chance meeting with Dr Frank-N-Furter had somehow eluded me... until now.

So, when Richard O’Brien’s travelling circus came to town, I was well and truly thrust to the very heart of this outrageous celebration of fun, frolics, frocks and frivolity.

Taking up residency at the New Theatre this Christmas season, the cult classic’s director Christopher Luscombe invited me to share the all important role of Narrator with all-round funny man Norman Pace – who kindly took me under his crushed velvet wing to show me the ropes.

The cast’s pre-show warm-up is enough to leave even the most fervent gym-goer on their knees – not least, the running back and forth to the dressing room up and down numerous flights of stairs in the theatre’s eerie corridors. Everyone (especially Rocky himself) has to be in top shape to dance their way through over two hours of physically demanding action - much more than just “a jump to the left and then a step the right”. And, don’t forget those vocal chords – which require a bizarre set of lip actions and banshee-like wails to prepare for timeless classics like Sweet Transvestite and Damn It Janet.

Despite being on the road and basically living out of a suitcase for over a year, this band of brothers and sisters still have a big smile on their faces and their energy is infectious.

As the five minute call echos from the house PA system, it’s nearly time to shine and this production is the sparkliest of them all. With an industrial amount of hairspray, skimpy leopard-print pants and glitter galore being applied to (almost) every part of the body, the male dressing room is no place for a shrinking violet, believe me!

Once the curtain’s up, the action behind-the-scenes is just as highly choreographed as it is onstage and the atmosphere is positively electrifying. And, lurking in the wings stage left, I’m awaiting my big micro-moment in the spotlight. As the fan’s favourite builds to a crescendo, Norman and I swoop onstage and lead them all into the rousing chorus with hands fully aloft. Hearing the rapturous response to my (albeit) small part was exhilarating and it’s easy to see why the likes of S Club 7’s Paul Cattermole and Coronation Street’s Georgia May Foote have relished their roles throughout this record-breaking UK tour.

It’s an innuendo-soaked laugh-out-loud raucous romp – with a call-and-response from the audience rivalled only by a tanked-up John Otway (Google him) crowd in full force. In fact, there seems to be many more strange characters off stage, than on – with fans of all ages, shapes and sizes living out their fancy dress fantasies for one night only.

And, as my new-found friends blast off into the stratosphere and the curtain falls on yet another sell-out show, they have but one hour until they have to do the Time Warp all over again, again! I just hope my girlfriend and I don't get stuck in the woods with a flat tyre any time soon...or, do I?

The Rocky Horror Show runs at Oxford’s New Theatre on George Street until 31st December. For tickets, visit atgtickets.com/oxford.