I’ve never watched Quadrophenia, the film. I’ve never listened to the album that the film is based on. I don’t even know The Who. I mean, I know who The Who are, but I don’t know what they sing. So, I was not sure if I would enjoy this contemporary ballet based on the album. But it honestly did not matter. If you’re a fan of the band / the album / the film then I’m sure the ballet is nostalgic, and it’s always amazing seeing films brought to life onstage. But this production is so well written, directed and designed that you can absolutely go in blind. It’s much more comprehensible than other ballets – even contemporary ballets – with its accessible storytelling. You can pretty easily follow what is going on. This is a ballet for everybody, even those unfamiliar with ballet (many The Who fans), and even those unfamiliar with The Who (many ballet fans).
Quadrophenia is focused on the mod subculture of the 1960s and the rivalry with the rockers. The lead, Jimmy, is a mentally unwell mod with four personalities, with all four being portrayed by other performers. It is not immediately clear that they are parts of Jimmy but this is actually more interesting because it makes them more distinct, and we realise how suffocating and troubling it must be for Jimmy, who feels like he is constantly battling with other people for control over his own mind. It’s a fascinating portrayal of mental illness that helps the audience to understand the plight without trivialising it.
The ballet is written by The Who’s Pete Townshend, who wrote the album. His wife, Rachel Fuller, orchestrated a symphonic arrangement of the album at the Royal Albert Hall; it was recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – and it is that rendition which has been used as the score of this ballet. The sound, though less visceral than the original album, is brilliantly bombastic from the beginning but it changes and moulds mellifluously over the course of the show. You are transported from a rock concert to a the Royal Albert Hall to an opera house; it’s a real musical journey, and the music is as much a part of the storytelling as the book and the dancing.
Martin Batchelar, who first worked with Pete and Rachel on ‘Classic Quadrophenia’, is also an orchestrator for this production.
Director Rob Ashford makes brilliant use of space. The Lowry’s huge stage never feels empty, except when he wants it to, for example, creating a feeling of isolation. Ashford works primarily in musicals, and choreographer Paul Roberts is best-known for his work in music; in Quadrophenia, multiple genres are fused together to create a mod ballet.
The choreography, then, is, at times, absolutely electrifying and exhilarating. The show’s subtitle, “A mod ballet”, is completely accurate. Roberts seamlessly fuses together contemporary ballet, with some traditional techniques, with mod movements (versus rocker movements), as well as archetypical 60s movements, alongside some more modern movements, like those seen in stage musicals and music videos, creating an interesting liminality between the birth of ballet, the 60s, and today, which feels fresh and funky.
The technical prowess of the performers, who effortlessly bring Roberts’ at-times challenging choreography to life, is mesmerising. Paris Fitspatrick is hauntingly divine as Jimmy. Paris is an incredibly versatile performer; I would not recognise him as the evil fairies in Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty if it was not for his memorable name.
The core cast includes Dan Baines (the Ace Face), Euan Garrett (the Friend), Jack Widdowson (the Godfather) and Taela Yeomans-Brown (the Mod Girl). All get their moment to shine – and shine, they do – but the characters could be fleshed out more to make them more interesting and independent. Even the identity of the female lead, the Mod Girl, is built out of and around Jimmy’s attraction to her as a beautiful woman, which feels a bit reductive, though I appreciate that the show is, very much, Jimmy’s world (and worldview).
The Godfather is sort-of the Fantine of this show, in that he appears minimally but makes the most of his limited stage time, chews up the scenery, and steals the show. His introduction, in which Jack wears a Union Flag blazer, with bright stage lights surrounding him (he is playing a famous rock star), is striking and sublime.
The production is incredibly cinematic in every way, from Fabiana Piccioli’s gorgeous, glorious lighting (which captures everything from a fresh day at the cliffs of Brighton to Jimmy’s mental decline) to Christopher Oram’s inventive and innovative set design (which sets itself apart from other ballets).
There is a large screen which transports us from location to location. Whilst lots of modern productions rely on screens because they are cheaper than set, this production has both, and the screen enhances the cinematic feeling of the piece. There are also smaller screens which come and go, adding dimension and depth.
For instance, in one scene, both screens show shops, and as Jimmy starts walking, the screens start moving. As we passed a bar, with people inside, I thought it would have looked even cooler if the people in the bar were moving – but that effect was used a moment later, where Jimmy sees his reflection in the diner. It’s not actually a reflection, of course, but, rather, a prerecorded video of Paris. Paris, then, had to mimic his “reflection”, and he was, of course, in sync. We then saw a girl appear in the “window”, just as the physical diner manifested at the other side of the stage, with that same girl stood on the edge, looking out. It was creative genius.
The minimalist set design, and how physical set pieces interact with the screens, is clever and creative. The video designs, by Yeastculture.org, are stunning. Paul Smith’s costume designs are period appropriate, excellently capturing the bold fashion of the 60s, from the mods to the rockers but also housewives, waitresses and party people. He has clearly done his research (or maybe he just remembers the 60s very well) because it all feels very true to the period. This production had me feeling nostalgic for a time I never knew.
Quadrophenia, A Mod Ballet runs at Lowry (Lyric Theatre) until July 19 – the last stop of its UK tour.
Photo: Johan Persson
JADAR 