If Shakespeare was writing rock musicals he would probably have come up with Return to the Forbidden Planet.

The Olivier Award-winning show blends The Tempest and Romeo and Juliet with a slice of a 1950s sci-fi B movie, resulting in a fast-paced rock 'n' roll spectacular with a score featuring Great Balls of Fire, Good Vibrations, Teenager in Love, The Young Ones and The Monster Mash.

It's the tale of Captain Tempest and his courageous crew who find themselves stranded on a strange planet when their spacecraft is caught in a violent asteroid storm in the winter of 2009.

Once on the planet D'illyria, the Forbidden Planet, chisel-jawed Tempest comes across Prospero, a great scientist who, 15 years previously, was sent into space by his wife, Gloria. As Prospero developed an elusive formula with which he would change the world, Gloria duped him and sent him off to space in an old spacecraft with little chance of survival. Unknown to her, their baby daughter, Miranda, was asleep on board.

The rock'n'roll classics are performed on stage by an energetic cast wearing silver space suits dancing around a spaceship set concealing keyboards and drums. The narrator's role is played on pre-recorded video which was played in the original production by astronomer Sir Patrick Moore.

The show is a collaboration between Harrogate Theatre and The Oldham Coliseum. Director Kevin Shaw says the Shakespearean influence goes deeper than the basic story.

"It's liberally taken from The Tempest, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet and it's performed in Shakespearean language," he says. "Anyone who knows the plays will recognise the dialogue. It goes seamlessly from dialogue to song. The songs are all recognisable rock'n'roll songs and they help to tell the story.

"It has a wide appeal. We get audiences of all ages coming along. It's a pastiche of old sci-fi movies and it has a similar appeal to The Rocky Horror Show. It's got quite a cult following and there's a great sense of community among the audiences. It's just a really good night out."

The show started life as a late-night cabaret thrown together at an after-show party.

What sets it apart from other rock musicals is that the entire cast play a variety of instruments. It must be difficult finding actors who can sing and dance as well as play the guitar, drums, keyboards and anything else thrown at them, live on stage.

"We have a cast of highly-talented actor-musicians," says Kevin. "It's very full-on for the cast, there are only eight of them and they're on stage the whole time. There's no chance to slop off for a cup of tea in the dressing room between scenes. It's a demanding show but it's also great fun.

"We had an extensive audition process and I have to say that these days the standard of actor-musicianship is getting higher and higher. The actor who plays Ariel has to move around in a huge robot suit on roller-skates. He had to learn to skate for the show.

"Performers are becoming more multi-skilled. They come out of their training as all-rounders - I see it as a return to the days of mummers' plays when actors could turn their hand to anything."

For Kevin, the most demanding aspect of directing the show is "making sure none of the elements get left behind."

"There's so much to get in - the live music, comedy, song-and-dance routines, the action - and my job is to blend it all together seamlessly."

The special effects have developed since the show first opened 18 years ago but Kevin says it wouldn't work if it was too polished.

"The show is a pastiche of 1950s movies, it's an affectionate spoof, so it can't look too slick," he says. "It's like the old Doctor Who episodes when the Daleks had sink plungers sticking out of them, there's that kind of look that people expect.

"The biggest development in the show is that wireless technology has allowed us more adventurous choreography. The cast make full use of the stage."

Kevin is chief executive and artistic director of the Oldham Coliseum and has directed plays as diverse as The Rise and Fall of Little Voice and The Wizard of Oz.

He has worked extensively in theatre, both as a director and an actor, with companies across the country.

Before becoming a director he worked as an actor and his TV credits include The Edge of Darkness, To Serve Them All My Days, Lytton's Diary and Never The Twain.

These days he's firmly on the other side of the director's chair. "Having been an actor, I can empathise with what actors are required to go through, which helps to build up trust," he says. "I can also push them that bit further because I know their limitations!"

  • Return to the Forbidden Planet runs at Harrogate Theatre until Saturday, June 30. For tickets ring (01423) 502116.