Quadrophenia, NK Theatre Arts
As regular readers will know, I've raved multiple times about NK Theatre Arts, a group based in Romiley. I wasn't able to attend their latest show, Quadrophenia (which I'm gutted about), but my dad (Barrie Hawker) went, loved it, and has written this brilliant review to share with you all...
This is one of the standout lines from Quadrophenia, a rock musical staged by NK Theatre Arts in Romiley, which I had the privilege of seeing last night. And it was quite some musical and it did indeed stand out.
I’ve seen a few shows here over the past year and have always been mightily impressed by the talent on show. The performers are all local and they are all amateur, something I had to keep reminding myself of last night when the singing was so brilliant, the choreography so mesmeric, the band so amazing and the acting, well in my opinion, first class. Can you tell I enjoyed it?
Well I say enjoyed, perhaps a better word might be experienced, because an experience is exactly what it was. When Jimmy, superbly played by Jake Ridgeway, was standing a few yards from me, singing ‘Is it me, for a moment’, I felt totally immersed in Jimmy’s world and moved to a stray tear as a result.
For those somewhat younger than I am, Quadrophenia began life as an album by The Who in the mid-seventies. A film grew out of this and it was just five years ago that NK Theatre Arts gained the permission of Pete Townshend to bring their interpretation of the album to life on stage as a rock musical. With the people at NK celebrating their 30-year anniversary, this year felt to them like the right time to revisit the show and I for one am extremely grateful that they did.
The story itself is not for the faint-hearted – Jimmy, the main character, is having a tough time. His parents aren’t exactly supportive, his ‘girlfriend’ prefers his mate who’s got an office job, and Jimmy feels let down by his idol who switches from Ace Face to Bell Boy, as Jimmy’s life follows a downward spiral towards destruction.
And Jimmy’s head doesn’t help him that much either. Inside there he is haunted by three alter egos; one a little crazy, one somewhat violent and one erring more towards the romantic and hopeful. He uses alcohol and pills to try and take the edge off things, but this way more darkness lies, and real answers prove hard to come by.
Jimmy is a mod, by the way, so he wears jeans and a parka and drives a scooter with lots of mirrors. This leads him into violent confrontation with rockers, notably at the seafront in Blackpool, where he also links up with Sandy, only to see her walk off later with one of his mod ‘mates’.
To say the show was intense would be something of an understatement. And to say the players were passionate would be damning with faint praise. Jimmy’s journey is full on, and the way it is played out on stage is, at times quite literally, in your face.
I’ve already mentioned Jake Ridgeway who plays Jimmy, but I’m going to have to mention him again. His voice moves from the tender to the raucous, the whispery to the raw, the low to the very high, all within the blink of an eye. His acting is top notch too, taking centre stage and pretty much owning centre stage throughout the production. A word in praise of his movement too. Jimmy has to stagger around quite a lot in this show, as he stumbles from one tragic scene to another. But he did this in different ways and in credible ways each and every time; no mean feat that.
I am assuming that some, if not all of this, will have been guided by choreographer Hannah Gorst who definitely deserves a huge amount of praise for the way the whole cast moves around in the show. This sometimes includes actual dance moves but is often based around players interacting with one another through a simple touch, a gentle shove or a full-blown punch in some of the more violent but again utterly believable parts of the show.
Then, of course, there was the band. And what a band it was too, not least when performing My Generation at the end of the show, when I swear it was Keith Moon on those drums and not someone claiming he was called John Patterson. Dominic Stannage is deserving of much praise here too – not only for his musical direction, but also for his singing and guitar-playing. Great job.
Whilst it’s often easy to pick out key performers in leading roles, I have to emphasise that this was clearly a team effort from start to finish. And this goes for the staging, the lighting, the sound, the set, the full working scooters to boot. As with many a top show, then, the whole was greater than the sum of its parts. During the many emotionally charged scenes in the show, you could pick out any cast member and see the passion in their eyes and the utter conviction in their performance.
This was never more present than when watching Jimmy’s three alter egos, Russell Hampson, Jack Townson and Luke Viney. These three are on stage pretty much throughout the show too, and their performances were all totally engaging. As for their singing, well let’s just say it was right up there with the best of the many shows I’ve seen in Manchester and on the West End.
I guess the director deserves a wee mention here too(!) – I believe much of this was her idea in the first place five years ago! Well hats off to you Kerry Day, this show was utterly brilliant.
Before I saw this show, I have to admit to thinking it was going to be based around a film I fondly recall being brought to life on stage, with a few songs I vaguely remember from the distant past. And to an extent I guess that’s what it vaguely was. But this production delivered so much more than my preconceived ideas of what it might be and how it might be.
Yes, it was based around mods and rockers and yes it was based around that film I saw. But this was just the beginning and one could argue, almost irrelevant. And anyway, this was Blackpool, not Brighton, the seaside but with true northern grit.
And this was the journey of someone who could have been me and might have been you. The themes in this show are dark and at times very depressing. This man’s journey into darkness is almost King Lear-like in its descent. And we can take the ending in whichever we’d like.
Jimmy may have seen the back of his alter egos and as he sings the heart-rending and brilliant Love Reign O’er Me, we can all try and believe that love has indeed taken o’er. But what will this mean to the Jimmy/The Everyman of the future?
Cue the sequel Kerry Day, which way now?
Thanks, Dad, for the guest post!
Sophie x
‘Not schizophrenic, I’m more quadrophenic’
I’ve seen a few shows here over the past year and have always been mightily impressed by the talent on show. The performers are all local and they are all amateur, something I had to keep reminding myself of last night when the singing was so brilliant, the choreography so mesmeric, the band so amazing and the acting, well in my opinion, first class. Can you tell I enjoyed it?
Well I say enjoyed, perhaps a better word might be experienced, because an experience is exactly what it was. When Jimmy, superbly played by Jake Ridgeway, was standing a few yards from me, singing ‘Is it me, for a moment’, I felt totally immersed in Jimmy’s world and moved to a stray tear as a result.
For those somewhat younger than I am, Quadrophenia began life as an album by The Who in the mid-seventies. A film grew out of this and it was just five years ago that NK Theatre Arts gained the permission of Pete Townshend to bring their interpretation of the album to life on stage as a rock musical. With the people at NK celebrating their 30-year anniversary, this year felt to them like the right time to revisit the show and I for one am extremely grateful that they did.
The story itself is not for the faint-hearted – Jimmy, the main character, is having a tough time. His parents aren’t exactly supportive, his ‘girlfriend’ prefers his mate who’s got an office job, and Jimmy feels let down by his idol who switches from Ace Face to Bell Boy, as Jimmy’s life follows a downward spiral towards destruction.
And Jimmy’s head doesn’t help him that much either. Inside there he is haunted by three alter egos; one a little crazy, one somewhat violent and one erring more towards the romantic and hopeful. He uses alcohol and pills to try and take the edge off things, but this way more darkness lies, and real answers prove hard to come by.
Jimmy is a mod, by the way, so he wears jeans and a parka and drives a scooter with lots of mirrors. This leads him into violent confrontation with rockers, notably at the seafront in Blackpool, where he also links up with Sandy, only to see her walk off later with one of his mod ‘mates’.
To say the show was intense would be something of an understatement. And to say the players were passionate would be damning with faint praise. Jimmy’s journey is full on, and the way it is played out on stage is, at times quite literally, in your face.
I’ve already mentioned Jake Ridgeway who plays Jimmy, but I’m going to have to mention him again. His voice moves from the tender to the raucous, the whispery to the raw, the low to the very high, all within the blink of an eye. His acting is top notch too, taking centre stage and pretty much owning centre stage throughout the production. A word in praise of his movement too. Jimmy has to stagger around quite a lot in this show, as he stumbles from one tragic scene to another. But he did this in different ways and in credible ways each and every time; no mean feat that.
I am assuming that some, if not all of this, will have been guided by choreographer Hannah Gorst who definitely deserves a huge amount of praise for the way the whole cast moves around in the show. This sometimes includes actual dance moves but is often based around players interacting with one another through a simple touch, a gentle shove or a full-blown punch in some of the more violent but again utterly believable parts of the show.
Then, of course, there was the band. And what a band it was too, not least when performing My Generation at the end of the show, when I swear it was Keith Moon on those drums and not someone claiming he was called John Patterson. Dominic Stannage is deserving of much praise here too – not only for his musical direction, but also for his singing and guitar-playing. Great job.
Whilst it’s often easy to pick out key performers in leading roles, I have to emphasise that this was clearly a team effort from start to finish. And this goes for the staging, the lighting, the sound, the set, the full working scooters to boot. As with many a top show, then, the whole was greater than the sum of its parts. During the many emotionally charged scenes in the show, you could pick out any cast member and see the passion in their eyes and the utter conviction in their performance.
This was never more present than when watching Jimmy’s three alter egos, Russell Hampson, Jack Townson and Luke Viney. These three are on stage pretty much throughout the show too, and their performances were all totally engaging. As for their singing, well let’s just say it was right up there with the best of the many shows I’ve seen in Manchester and on the West End.
I guess the director deserves a wee mention here too(!) – I believe much of this was her idea in the first place five years ago! Well hats off to you Kerry Day, this show was utterly brilliant.
Before I saw this show, I have to admit to thinking it was going to be based around a film I fondly recall being brought to life on stage, with a few songs I vaguely remember from the distant past. And to an extent I guess that’s what it vaguely was. But this production delivered so much more than my preconceived ideas of what it might be and how it might be.
Yes, it was based around mods and rockers and yes it was based around that film I saw. But this was just the beginning and one could argue, almost irrelevant. And anyway, this was Blackpool, not Brighton, the seaside but with true northern grit.
And this was the journey of someone who could have been me and might have been you. The themes in this show are dark and at times very depressing. This man’s journey into darkness is almost King Lear-like in its descent. And we can take the ending in whichever we’d like.
Jimmy may have seen the back of his alter egos and as he sings the heart-rending and brilliant Love Reign O’er Me, we can all try and believe that love has indeed taken o’er. But what will this mean to the Jimmy/The Everyman of the future?
Cue the sequel Kerry Day, which way now?
Thanks, Dad, for the guest post!
Sophie x
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