task d writing styles

Quadrophenia, the musical, is delivered through songs and a variety of scenes. There is no dialogue other than song lyrics. This means that the audience has to work hard to piece together the complexities of Jimmy’s character and the events of the Mods and Rockers conflict: knowing the plot from the 1970s movie helps. Fortunately the storyline in the musical is fairly simple. Boy from violent dysfunctional home is unhappy with his life and sets off seeking love, adventure and a different purpose to his life. Boy goes astray and dream gets broken. The result is disappointment, frustration and violence.
Quadrophenia, The Musical, tells us the story of Jimmy a young man full of the usual teenage anger. Jimmy is a rebel who feels his life should be better and he cannot settle to the nine to five routine of life. The story line is about Jimmy’s struggle to understand and be understood. His parents cannot help him and his relationship with his Dad descends into violence as Jimmy questions his parents’ loveless relationship. Jimmy is looking for companionship and this leads him to join the local Mod gang who are heading for Brighton. Jimmy throws himself into the scene and his overuse of drugs begins to change his character and outlook. The local Mod leader becomes Jimmy’s hero until he realises that he works in service as a Bell Boy. Jimmy’s fantasy of a completely different life for young people is shattered. In Brighton his life finds a violent tragic end. His trip ends in disappointment as he loses the girl and ends up involved in a violent stabbing of his fallen hero.
Jimmy character is played by four different characters that represent different parts of his character: lunatic, hypocrite, romantic and violent. This can get confusing especially during the first act and when they are all on stage together.
The set for the show is fairly basic. The musicians appear behind the action on a tiered scaffold and there is a central rotating climbing frame as well as a rotating part to the stage. The transition from one scene to the next is slick and the songs move you through each scenario as they tell the story of Jimmy’s troubles. The simplistic set means that the youthful cast have to put lots of energy into recreating the Mod scene of the early sixties. The young performers do this through dance, song and acrobatics as they recreate the energy and dangers of the era. Their costumes represent the fashions of the day. The energetic cast is well supported by the trumpets, guitars and drums at the rear, which at times makes you feel that you are at a pop concert rather than a musical production. During, in the first act, it takes time to get into the plot. The scenes appear a bit random and one bit of dramatic tension, a fight at home, is followed by another bit of dramatic action: a row at work, or the four elements of jimmy’s character wrestling for control. Initially it takes a while to realise that they are all Jimmy, despite the fact that they all wear the same clothes throughout the production. The lack of dialogue, loud music and fast pace of the action makes it hard to follow. Nevertheless it is an enjoyable experience particularly when the old Who classics are bashed out. At the show I went to the cast joined the audience in the bar for after show refreshments and were welcomed and praised by today’s youngsters and a small number of pot bellied Mods, whose parkas, Ben Shermans and mini skirts had seen better days.

task d writing styles

Pork pie hats, Parkas, popping ‘blues’, chasing rockers on your Vespa! Remember the Mods? They’re back with a country wide tour of Quadrophenia the Musical. The new show is based on The Who’s famous album of the same name and will take in twenty venues across Great Britain during 2009. Live on stage for the first time Quadrophenia provides a fast moving insight into the changing lives of teenagers in sixties Britain.

Portraying the start of Youth Culture and rebellion Quadrophenia is set in Brighton and London but as a tour of British towns and cities ‘Quad’ reflects the countrywide explosion of the ‘Mods and Rocker’ phenomena. The musical features disaffected Jimmy, who is looking for a good time, a girlfriend and a place in society. In Jimmy’s world you don’t quite get anything right but when it all goes wrong you keep looking for the next piece of action.

Quadrophenia the musical is about the growing pains of teenagers at the start of the boom time sixties. Its backdrop is the lyrics and music of many previously unpublished songs by Pete Townsend lead guitarist and songwriter with The Who. Townsend’s original intention was to write a quadruple album but it never made the shops. ‘Quadrophenia The Musical’ contains several of the songs cut from his initial work.

Pete Townsend, now musical Creative Consultant to the show, will see its opening night in Plymouth and watch with anticipation as audiences around the country experience his interpretation of the movie, before the show’s last night in Coventry, home of ska band The Specials.

This is a musical for the young and describes the early days of ‘You’ve never had it so good Britain’ when young people had money, transport and freedom from the shackles of parents and post war regeneration. Of course, young people today can still relate to the issues Jimmy wrestles with. Today’s teenagers may have IPods, Student Loans, Unemployment and Asbos to deal with but they will quickly recognise, the Jimmy the Romantic, Jimmy The Tough Guy, Jimmy the Lunatic and the need to be different , to be part of the gang and to fit in, to know where the action is and move heaven and hell to get there.

This is the Sixties Generation and whether Jimmy represents the four members of The Who, or just the changeable moods of a young drug user, Quadrophenia will take you back to the days of your youth: gangs, girls, excitement the sounds of the crowd. You will remember the morning after, the comedown back at work and of course the battles with Mum and Dad.

Meet Ace Face, Jimmy, the mod girls and leave Dead End Street on your way to London, Brighton, and Beachy Head. Those were the days my friend and Quadrophenia the Musical gives you the chance to relive the swinging era of Mods and Rockers. And for followers of Quentin Tarantino , when you are at the show keep an eye out for Jack Roth, son of Tim Roth of Reservoir Dogs, Made in Britain and Lie To Me notoriety.
This is a night to see what Magistrate Dr George Simpson was talking about in 1964 when he described Mods and Rockers as ‘These long haired mentally unstable petty little hoodlums, these sawdust Caesars who can only find courage like rats in hunting in packs.’

Never heard your Grandparents described like that before – get down to the show and see for yourself. You won’t get fooled again.