‘All’s Nell That Ends Nell’ // More Than Magic and HOTA
‘All’s Nell That Ends Nell’ was tantalising.
Best known for her role as Columbia in ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’, Nell Campbell has tap-danced her way from Sydney to London and even New York, leading a spectacular life after fame.
In her new one-woman confessional, ‘All’s Nell That Ends Nell’, audiences are given the inside scoop of all the juicy bits she’s encountered along the way. First premiering at The Brunswick Heads Picture House, in partnership with More Than Magic, Campbell has brought her confessional to the Gold Coast’s Home of the Arts.
The conversational and vibrant tell-all felt like a delightful afternoon catch-up spent reminiscing over a glass of wine and trawling through memory boxes and photo albums.
Entering the stage in a stunning sequined dress, Campbell’s show begins and ends with a moment of tap dance glitz and glam. After a stagehand pours her a glass of wine out of a box cask in true Aussie fashion, Campbell settles into a mid-century armchair and starts up a slideshow of her wild and wonderful life.
The corporate vibes of the Lakeside space fell to the mercy of Campbell’s fabulous presence and her memory showreel. Told as chapters, Campbell guides the audience through her origin story, her performance journey, how ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ came to be, and her socialite life since.
Campbell knew her audience well and was meticulous with her details in discussing every step of how the show-turned-film became the cult classic it is today. She explained how each of the creatives first came together, how the iconic cast members were selected (“quirky personalities with a street profile”), and recounted the many and varied setbacks that were overcome to make the original stage show and the film such wild successes.
Although that part of her life was over and “all [she has] to show for it is lousy bra”, her world after Columbia was equally as colourful.
To set the scene during the pre-show, the stage was washed in sultry red lighting accompanied by a rolling slideshow featuring newspaper clippings, posters and iconic photos of Campbell.
After the show, audiences had the opportunity to purchase a personally signed photograph of Campbell, some even walking away with a photograph with the star. Most of the audience arrived at the event adorned in ‘Rocky Horror’ costumes, while others wore equally glamorous outfits covered in feathers, sequins, or both.
A fascinating peek into the past, Nell Campbell’s one-woman show provides longtime and recent fans alike an insight into the behind-the-scenes stories of her star-studded past.
‘All’s Nell That Ends Nell’ is touring! Keep an eye out for future show dates on Nell’s social media, or visit their website for more information.
