Quadrophenia
★★★☆☆ Complex
Festival Theatre: Tue 26 – Sat 30 May 2009
Review by Thom Dibdin
The power-chords and preening mods might be correct, but the plot is hardly present in this spangly new stage version of The Who’s Quadrophenia – the 1973 rock-opera that called on youth movements to grow up or die.
As a live representation of the album, this Theatre Royal Plymouth production is brilliant. Fans of The Who should come away with thoroughly satisfied eardrums.
A scene from Quadrophenia. Pic: Steve Tanner.
The nine-piece onstage band do a sterling job with big throbbing bass lines, soaring string sections and tricky bits of keyboard all as they should be. There are a clutch of early Who and High Numbers tracks for good measure and it’s loud enough too.
However, the whole thing is far too complex.
Surely, this was an opportunity for the adaptation team to iron out the muddles which Pete Townshend gave to the original album. Townshend can at least be forgiven, it was a tricky time for the band.
neat decision
Writer Jeff Young, MD John O’Hara and director Tom Critchley might deserve praise for some neat decisions concerning the way they represent the four different personalities of young mod Jimmy. Their storytelling, however, is dire.
A scene from Quadrophenia. Pic: Steve Tanner.
We know, because it says so in the programme, that Jimmy’s personality is split into a romantic (Ryan O’Donnell), a tough guy (George Maguire), a lunatic (Jack Roth) and a hypocrite (Rob Kendrick). Why, who represents which trait, and what their relationships are to each other is never revealed.
We also know from the programme that the first half is set in London, where Jimmy becomes disillusioned. He then goes down to Brighton to try and rediscover the edge he experienced there over the bank-holiday battles between mods and rockers.
loose ends
On stage, however, it’s a succession of enactments of the various songs – and hardly the sort of combination of the stage arts worthy of being described as opera.
That the directorial team can tell a story is proven in the final twenty minutes of the show when, having run out of original songs, they use an interminable instrumental section as backing while they tie up the many loose ends.
A scene from Quadrophenia. Pic: Steve Tanner.
If it’s too little, too late, the actual performances should not pass without receiving their due credit.
Sydney Rae White has a terrific singing voice for The Girl, and gives Love, Reign Over Me – sensibly brought forward to the end of the first half with a big ending reprise – a sassy full-hearted rendition.
Ryan Gage has all the poses and moves for Ace Face, the top mod who Jimmy looks up to, but discovers is a lowly bellhop in real life. But it is Kevin Wathen as the Godfather who, outside of the four Jimmys, really gets into the numbers.
It’s a great concept and the performances are strong, but they are all undone by inept direction.
Running time: Two hours (including one interval)
Festival Theatre 13/29 Nicolson St, EH8 9FT
Tue 26 – Sat 30 May 2009,
Sydney Rae White in Quadrophenia. Pic: Steve Tanner.
ENDS
