Manchester Theatre News & Reviews

REVIEW - Quadrophenia - A Mod Ballet is innovative and enthralling - fuelled with passion, skill and strength of exceptional dancers

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On Tuesday, we went to Lowry, Salford to see Quadrophenia - A Mod Ballet. Read what our reviewer Karen Ryder had this fine production...

A rock opera, a movie, a classical opera, and now a ballet! Quadrophenia refuses to slip away quietly, confined to its own era or genre, instead continually reinventing itself to make its reach as wide and accessible as possible. And that defiant spirit is the beating heart of its very existence, a rebellion searching for a place to dwell and feel at home. Quadrophenia, A Mod Ballet is living out its own legacy, refusing to settle, refusing to be defined, and refusing to be silenced. Originally written in 1973 by Pete Townsend, a member of huge rock band The Who, it is now deemed a cult classic and was met with critical success. As momentum grew into tours, rereleased recordings, and continued to attract hugely influential collaborators such as Alfie Boe, Quadrophenia solidified itself as a part of our cultural history, and its timeless themes of rebellion, identity, and rivalries continue to intrigue and beguile audiences today. So even if you are a newbie to the music or story of Quadrophenia, it is still your story. It still plays into a part of each and everyone of us that resonates, and that is why Quadrophenia, A Mod Ballet is a show for everyone.

Even the title of the show is a work of art. As we meet Jimmy, a lost and tortured young man, we follow him over the course of a week and see four various sides of his personality taking over. The title is a blend of these four elements, quad, and the suggestion of a chronic mental health condition, schizophrenia. As Jimmy struggles to find his place in the world, with zero support from his parents who are facing their own challenges of substance abuse and PTSD, he is led by these four facets of his personality, often at the most unhelpful of moments, making his navigation of life more challenging than ever. We witness him take on the world as the tough guy, the lunatic, the romantic, and the hypocrite, and as dancers represent these facets and dance alongside Jimmy, we see them lead him and tease him into unhelpful situations time and time again. But Jimmy just wants to belong and aspires to be more in life than his working class parents. He feels trapped and is desperately looking for an escape, one he finds in the 60’s subculture of the Mods. But The Mods have rules, and one of them is that you categorically hate their arch rival subculture group The Rockers. Not a problem until Jimmy discovers his childhood friend is a Rocker and now supposed to be his nemesis. As his world hurtles along at breakneck speed, Jimmy finds himself on Brighton beach in a historical showdown between the two groups, caught in the midst of a brutal and violent riot. As he witnesses his childhood friend being violently assaulted, he is flooded with guilt, with flashbacks of happy family holidays on this very beach that has now become the devils playground, and the four facets of his personality torment him, getting louder and louder, drowning out any sense of hope. The ending is powerful, and open to interpretation, perhaps each of us finding what we need to find from it.

Originally written by Peter Townsend, the score has been reorchestrated for Quadrophenia, A Mod Ballet by the insanely talented Rachel Fuller, who is also Townsend’s wife, and so there is an additional layer of love and respect within this majestic and swelling score, and Martin Batchelar. It is epic! It is that simple. It is cinematic, grandiose, and pours right out of the heart and soul of the story and characters, connecting you with them. Combined with the awe-inspiring video design by Yeast Culture, set design by Christopher Oram, and sound and light by Fabiana Picciolo and David Mcewan, this show is something special. As waves crash on a huge cinematic screen behind the dancers, the sound of waves are mirrored and vibrate throughout the theatre. Multi-screen dimensions are used effectively, projecting drawings that come to life, whirling us through Jimmy’s chaotic mind as he meets a cacophony of characters, and is fuelled by alcohol and pills. Doors are incorporated into the dance, sets connect, sliding on and off with as much ease and grace as the dancers, and are also used to project onto, a particularly effective moment flooding the stage with actual newspaper headlines of the Brighton Beach riots. Lighting transports us between beautiful sunsets, to crazed nightclubs, always prompting us to feel and respond in a certain way. With a flare for the 60’s, costume designer Paul Smith has encapsulated the era perfectly with the contrasting pencil straight suits of the Mods and the leather clad Rockers.

This ensemble of dancers is outstanding, making the most powerful and difficult art form appear effortless and easy! They are beguiling to watch, truly creating a thing of beauty. From the first moment we see dancers on the stage, they are mesmerising, hypnotic as their bodies extend from the images of crashing waves behind them, mirroring these natural elements and becoming more real than the projected images themselves! Paris Fitzpatrick embodies the lead role of Jimmy with such duplicity, whether he is a lost boy, a confident strutter, arrogant, romantic, confused, we see it all as it flows out of him, reaches the audience and grabs us. The four facets of Jimmy’s personality are brought to intoxicating life by Curtis Angus as the Tough Guy, Will Bozier as the Hypocrite, Seirian Griffiths as the Romantic, and Dylan Jones as the Lunatic. The partner work that each of them performs with Fitzpatrick is delicious and as a five, they are spellbinding. The lifts performed are like nothing I have ever seen before, and the transitions in and out of them are beyond creative. At one point, Jimmy is lifted into the air by his four personalities, simply by somehow pushing him upwards with their hands. The creativity is phenomenal, and the delicate beauty of ballet is met with contemporary infusion as jumps, twists, aerial acrobatics, freezes, and even flying blend to create a spectacular work of art.

Euan Garret as the friend also gives us a wonderful dual performance, playful, energetic, and full of vibrancy as he reconnects with Jimmy in the park, clashing harshly against his next encounter with him during the riots on Brighton beach where we see him being brutally assaulted. Stuart Neal as the Father and Kate Tydman as the Mother portray their complex and tormented relationship with devasting beauty, giving a clear indication as to why Jimmy is so lost. Their partner work is sublime, and Neal’s army flashback is heartbreakingly poignant, wracking his body and working with the lifeless bodies of his comrades. Directed by Rob Ashford and choreographed by Paul Roberts, Quadrophenia, A Mod Ballet is a true collaboration of art forms that clearly show mutual respect. The dancing is infused with acting, the acting infused with dancing, both responding heart and soul to the music. And for worlds of ballet and rock that perhaps do not seem natural companions, this makes the resulting brilliance even more applaudable and exciting. The fluidity catches you off guard, perhaps expecting a rougher, grittier physical language given the subject matters, but this unexpected storytelling is its success and transports you for the entirety of the show.

From recognisable 60’s moves in the nightclub scene, to the changeability and liquid movement of waves, to an iconic fight scene on the beach, Quadrophenia, A Mod Ballet has it all. The riot scene on the beach is one you could watch time and time again and still be absorbing information. It is jam packed with detail, with intricate movements, solo, partner, small group, ensemble, always moving, always switching focus, building in energy until the inevitable. It is not only an exceptional dance scene, but an acting one too, how to physically tell a story and hold an audience in the palm of your hand. My only piece of advice for the show as a whole would be to perhaps have a little read up on the story and its characters prior to attending so it is clear that the dancers working with Jimmy are facets of himself, that the lady strutting around in blue is a representation of drugs, and that Jimmy’s childhood friend is indeed a real friend, and not another manifestation of his personality. It won’t detract from your enjoyment in anyway if you don’t, but it will enhance it if you do.

Quadrophenia, A Mod Ballet may have an angst-ridden storyline rippling throughout its core, but it is paradoxically a joy to behold. Fuelled with the passion, skill, and strength of exceptional dancers, and set to the impeccable score of majestic music that scorches your soul, this production leaves a lasting impression way after the final curtain call. Its appeal reaches beyond fans of The Who or the original album, embracing lovers of dance, theatre, and music in equal measures who may never have seen or even heard of Quadrophenia before. And that’s why work such as this should be celebrated because it beautifully and successfully blends artistic worlds together in ways you never thought possible, resulting in something unique, special, and lasting. It is highly ambitious, continually juxtaposing and clashing violence, rebellion, and tortured minds with elegance, grace, and effortless dance, and it pays off. Quadrophenia, A Mod Ballet is innovative and enthralling, capturing a moment in history through a fictional character, yet with this fresh interpretation through a new generation of dancers, Jimmy’s story never seemed more relevant. These dancers speak through their body’s, connecting us to the themes with more intensity, more integrity, more authenticity, because nobody in Jimmy’s family know how to talk to each other, and so dance expresses where words fail. We can see the frustrations, the confusion, the loss, loneliness, injustice, heartache, and identity crisis without limitations and it results in a beautiful heartache of a show. If you get the opportunity, go and watch Quadrophenia, A Mod Ballet. It will blow your mind, and as originally intended, it might just help you find your way.

WE SCORE QUADROPHENIA - A MOD BALLET...