Craig McLachlan sends a message with his Schadenfreude show

The former Neighbours star’s career has been spluttering since he was found not guilty of indecent assault involving allegations made about his behaviour during a production of The Rocky Horror Show.

After attempting a comeback last year, and cancelling it, McLachlan will appear next month in his own cabaret, music, circus, magic and “gloriously twisted” comedy show titled Schadenfreude.

His character is described “as the devilish Dr Schadenfreude”, a “psychologist, eccentric and provocateur”.

The blurb from his PR, Max Markson , states: “The good doctor has a theory: there is something wonderfully entertaining about watching somebody else’s perfectly ordered world fall apart. And he intends to explain exactly why.”

The show might rankle with those who kept an eye on McLachlan over the years.

In 2018, this masthead reported the former star of the Doctor Blake Mysteries was alleged to have indecently assaulted and sexually harassed female performers during a 2014 stage production of The Rocky Horror Show . McLachlan then launched defamation proceedings against this masthead, the ABC and performer Christie Whelan Browne over reports about the allegations.

In 2020, he was acquitted in the criminal case involving allegations made by four women.

In 2022, McLachlan abandoned his defamation case and was ordered to pay legal costs. And in 2024 Whelan Browne settled out of court a case she brought against production company GFO, seeking compensation for lost earnings and damages.

McLachlan is in Greece on holidays ahead of the big gig, which opens at Melbourne’s Spiegel Haus on October 28 ahead of a potential Sydney run.

Appearing alongside him is a former cast member of The Rocky Horror Show , Kristian Lavercombe , who played Riff Raff in 2600 performances, as well as another Rocky Horror alumni, Stellar Perry , a 2020 grand finalist on The Voice Australia . Also in the cast is Brendan Irving .

The outcry was considerable a year ago when McLachlan was cast by producer John Frost in a production of Cluedo , and he abandoned the role.

In 2023, he appeared in Seven’s survival reality series SAS Australia, quitting the course before the finale.

Schadenfreude promises original music, twisted takes on familiar songs, burlesque and puppetry. The age designation is strictly 18+.

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