Quadrophenia
On 24th September 2009 I went to see Quadrophenia at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre. A musical - often referred to as the Iconic Rock Opera - based on the rock band, The Who's, songs, the show consisted of little-to-no dialogue and the audience interpreted what was taking place through the song lyrics and the actions made by the cast.
The play is set in Brighton and London at the height of the Mod era and it is told through the eyes of Jimmy, a schizophrenic with four different personalities (often all on stage at the same time), who is searching for his place in life and for a girl to love. He is misunderstood by his parents and hates his dead-end life and so sets off to Brighton on a trip that will completely change his life.
The cast were all superb in the play, in my opinion, one of the best was Ryan Gage who played Ace Face. Having seen him previously in Hamlet at The Courtyard Theatre in October 2008 I had already seen some of his acting abilities, but here I saw even more in a completely different role, hardly able to tell it was the same person because of the way he had changed into each character. His singing was also pronounced and articulate and he put a lot more emphasis into his actions than some of the other cast did.
A negative to this play was the fact that there was no dialogue. As it was told through rock music it was sometimes difficult to clearly distinguish what the actors was singing and the actor's actions weren't always pronounced enough to be able to guess as to what they were trying to show, and so, especially during the second act, the story was, at times, difficult to follow. However even so, without understanding it all, the play was still very good and something good to listen to, especially if the music is of the sort you like.
The scenery, on the other hand, was very well thought-out, produced and shown on the stage. The lighting was carefully articulated to express different feelings, emotions and atmosphere, and the choreographers had maneuvered the cast's actions into and around the props so that everything was being used all of the time and the stage didn't feel unused or empty.
What, I believe, could be improved on is that of the four personalities of Jimmy. While they are all meant to be the same person it often gets confusing which one is which and which one you are meant to be watching, and so I think that each one could wear something different to the others, to be able to distinguish them all.
On the whole I feel the play was great. The music, lights (while not the best at times due to the constant flashing) and the choreography were all used in some of the best ways possible and my favourite part of the show was the finale at the end with the cast singing 'My Generation' and the silver confetti falling from the top of the stage.
I would recommend this show to others, but I believe it is only suitable (and these people are perhaps the ones who will appreciate it the most) to those who are fans of The Who and this type of music, and who can withstand the flashing lights.
The play is set in Brighton and London at the height of the Mod era and it is told through the eyes of Jimmy, a schizophrenic with four different personalities (often all on stage at the same time), who is searching for his place in life and for a girl to love. He is misunderstood by his parents and hates his dead-end life and so sets off to Brighton on a trip that will completely change his life.
The cast were all superb in the play, in my opinion, one of the best was Ryan Gage who played Ace Face. Having seen him previously in Hamlet at The Courtyard Theatre in October 2008 I had already seen some of his acting abilities, but here I saw even more in a completely different role, hardly able to tell it was the same person because of the way he had changed into each character. His singing was also pronounced and articulate and he put a lot more emphasis into his actions than some of the other cast did.
A negative to this play was the fact that there was no dialogue. As it was told through rock music it was sometimes difficult to clearly distinguish what the actors was singing and the actor's actions weren't always pronounced enough to be able to guess as to what they were trying to show, and so, especially during the second act, the story was, at times, difficult to follow. However even so, without understanding it all, the play was still very good and something good to listen to, especially if the music is of the sort you like.
The scenery, on the other hand, was very well thought-out, produced and shown on the stage. The lighting was carefully articulated to express different feelings, emotions and atmosphere, and the choreographers had maneuvered the cast's actions into and around the props so that everything was being used all of the time and the stage didn't feel unused or empty.
What, I believe, could be improved on is that of the four personalities of Jimmy. While they are all meant to be the same person it often gets confusing which one is which and which one you are meant to be watching, and so I think that each one could wear something different to the others, to be able to distinguish them all.
On the whole I feel the play was great. The music, lights (while not the best at times due to the constant flashing) and the choreography were all used in some of the best ways possible and my favourite part of the show was the finale at the end with the cast singing 'My Generation' and the silver confetti falling from the top of the stage.
I would recommend this show to others, but I believe it is only suitable (and these people are perhaps the ones who will appreciate it the most) to those who are fans of The Who and this type of music, and who can withstand the flashing lights.
