Picture of Léa Blerk: provided
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In the end, it’s a bunch of good, old-fashioned, cheesy, ridiculous fun, which is something I think we all desperately need.
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Léa Blerk plays Janet in The Rocky Horror show, which opens at Theatre on the Bay on 7 April 2026, directed by Steven Stead.
She tells Naomi Meyer about her role and about the iconic play.
Hi, Léa! You play Janet in the upcoming Rocky Horror Show at Theatre on the Bay in Camps Bay. When did you see The Rocky Horror Show for the first time? Please tell our readers, and anyone who has not seen this show, what it is about.
Hey! I watched The rocky horror show for the first time in 2019, when it was on at the Artscape. I was shocked and intrigued by the insane experience that is Rocky horror. I certainly never expected to be playing Janet opposite Craig Urbani (who was in the 2019 production, too) seven years later!
Rocky is really a show about freedom, sexuality, expression and desire, explored through some classic B-movie horror and sci-fi tropes. Our director, Steven Stead, is shaping it to just the right amount of trashy while still being edgy, honest and wildly entertaining.
Your character is not the same girl at the beginning of the show and at the end. Tell me about her transformation – and about your interpretation of who she is and who she becomes.
Janet Weiss starts off as a typical product of her time. Her dream of becoming the perfect 1950s housewife to Brad (played by Robert Everson) is what gets her going. She’s naive and virginal and terribly repressed. When she and Brad stumble upon self-proclaimed "transvestite" Frank ’N Furter (played by Craig Urbani) and his alluring entourage, her ideas of morality, modesty and intimacy are turned upside down. In my opinion, her journey holds both light and dark; it’s one of self-discovery and embracing her desires, and one of overindulgence and exploitation.
I am always amazed at what everyone from LAMTA accomplishes in musicals – and how talented you are on all fronts: singing, dancing and acting. Does this show incorporate all three aspects? Which do you enjoy most, and which, if any, is the most challenging?
Thank you! This show does incorporate all three aspects of the holy trinity of musical theatre. I’d say I’m an actress at heart, and that’s definitely what I enjoy the most, with singing being a close second. I love dancing, too, but it’s the most challenging of the three for me. This production’s frantic, unhinged dance style is one of my favourites, though – with the choreography by Duane Alexander and Naoline Quinzin.
Could you tell me about your interactions with Brad and the other characters you engage with? And what do you enjoy about those interactions – share a bit about the dynamics?
Janet and Brad are literally joined at the hip for the whole of Act 1, which makes for many silly and funny interactions. They mostly consist of Brad trying to stop Janet from joining in on the profane dance parties.
This cast is made up of people who have known each other for a long time, so any onstage interaction feels familiar, playful and fun. It’s a beautiful dynamic to be a part of.
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If you had to provide one reason why everyone should come and watch this show, what would it be? I know that for The Rocky Horror Show, no one is left untouched; people have to not only watch, but be the show. Could you expand on that for us?
The world is in a terrifying state right now, and it’s frankly depressing. I think Rocky Horror provides an escape from that and invites you into a completely different world, where anything goes and you can be as outrageous as you want. That’s what this show has represented to people since 1975: a safe haven to be different or queer – to let loose, to go against the grain. Not just to dream it, but to be it. It’s a place where anyone can belong if they want to. Audiences wear lace, corsets, fishnets, red lips and garters because they want to be as wild and shameless as the show they’re watching. In the end, it’s a bunch of good, old-fashioned, cheesy, ridiculous fun, which is something I think we all desperately need.