Richard's Long and Rocky Road

14 March 2004

Ex-TVNZ newsreader Richard Long is about to enter a time warp - though it's not back with Judy Bailey on the 6pm news. Long heads to Palmerston North this week to rehearse for his role as narrator in the cult musical The Rocky Horror Show.
The man who presented the weekday news to more than 700,000 Kiwis for 16 years admits to being far more nervous facing an auditorium full of faces. "It is quite different to performing to a camera," he said. "A camera doesn't yawn or look bored."

The role of Rocky Horror narrator has been played by other high-profile Kiwis, including Sir Robert Muldoon. The latest production of the 1970s spoof also stars Shane Cortese (Shortland Street's Dominic Warner) as Frank 'N' Furter, with Rocky played by Bede Skinner, Cleo magazine's 2003 Bachelor of the Year.

Long, whose acting experience is limited to a small part in a production at high school, said he agreed to the part because of its novelty. "(The narrator is) the one role where you don't need to be a professional actor. It would be lovely to tell my grandchildren that I took part in a cult classic musical."

He was offered the part after publicity around his TVNZ axing in the first round of reforms by the state broadcaster's news boss Bill Ralston. And, like his co-anchor Bailey, who told the Sunday Star-Times last month she was relishing her new solo presenter status, Long said he was loving his new lifestyle.

"(Leaving) certainly was emotional. The people who mattered to me gave me a wonderful farewell and that was all I cared about. They were just great."

Long now lives in the Coromandel township of Matarangi and enjoys being away from Auckland. His new home has "everything that I want", he said. "Mercury Island is in the distance and the garden is growing beautifully." He has spent the past month practising lines for Rocky Horror in front of "the most beautiful view".

Long is also busy with a production company, which he set up with television producers Chas Toogood and Colin McRae.
"It was a wonderful job but presenting, if you're a reporter, can be frustrating," said Long. "You can dabble behind the scenes as much as you like but you're not creating programmes."

The show opens on March 25. There will be eight performances.