3rd June 2009
Quadrophenia Rocks On
Quadrophenia, the iconic rock
opera, starts a six month tour of the UK. in May
2009. This exciting production has some very strong links
with the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.
In February 2007, thirty years after The Who
released their critically acclaimed album, Quadrophenia,
this epic rock opera was adapted for stage by director Tom
Critchley, writer Jeff Young, musical director John O‘Hara and
choreographer Fran Newman. The legendary Pete Townsend gave his
approval and the production was developed and workshopped at the
Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. The first performance was
at the Sherman Theatre starring RWCMD’s Kimberley Nixon (Acting,
2007).
Quadrophenia became a cult film when
it was released in 1979, starring Phil Daniels. The story, about
growing up in the 1960s, is told through the eyes of Jimmy, a lad
struggling to forge his own identity in a time of intense
socio-political uncertainty. It is full of teenage angst,
experimenting, drug taking, violence, gangs and sex. Some might say
that times haven’t changed much.
Speaking in 2007 Director Tom Critchley was
full of praise for College students, “The show is about a group
of young people and you certainly get that energy from these actors
and musicians. In my view, if we had auditioned all the drama
schools in the country we couldn’t have ended up with a better cast
than we have here.”
Townsend himself sneaked unannounced into a
mid-week performance and spoke to the actors and musicians after
the show. Clearly impressed with their performance skills and
commitment, he later wrote in his blog, “Everyone threw so much
passion, talent, energy and wonderment into their work that I felt
humbled.” Praise indeed.
The 2007 Royal Welsh College production of
Quadrophenia was produced by exclusive arrangement with
Eel Pie Publishing Limited and kindly supported by The Richard
Carne Trust, with in-kind sponsorship from Fred Perry and Merc
Clothing.
Two years later, on May 9th 2009, the full
professional production premiered at the Theatre Royal in
Plymouthbefore heading out on tour across the UK. The production
visits Cardiff between July 14thand 18th and
features many of the original talent who worked on the RWCMD
workshop production:
- John O’Hara (Guest Tutor at RWCMD), Musical
Supervision/Orchestration
- Fran Newman (Senior Lecturer in Movement at
RWCMD), Choreography
- Kevin McCurdy (Lecturer in Stage Combat at
RWCMD), Fight Direction
The following former students were also
involved in the original production and are part of the new
creative team:
- Rob Kendrick (Acting, 2007), ‘Jimmy the
Hypocrite’
- John Schumacher (Acting, 2007),
‘Dad’
- Daniel Curtis (Acting, 2007), ‘Ace Face’
- Ryan O’Donnell (Acting, 2007), ‘Jimmy the
Romantic’
- Sophie Kahn (Theatre Design, 2007), Set
Design
- Carl Perry (Theatre Design, 2007), Costume
Design
For more information see the Quadrophenia
website and watch the
Arts Show with Gavin Allen.