Quadrophenia Review: Theatre Royal Bath

Quadrophenia is an extraordinary word that was the title of an extraordinary rock album. It then subsequently went on to be an extraordinary film and this week theatregoers in Bath have seen that it has also now been reborn into an extraordinary stage play too.

The film is probably the best known of all. Starring Phil Daniels as Jimmy, the challenged young man who suffers from multiple personality problems, it charts his struggle to find his place in the world by joining the burgeoning mod movement of the early 1960s. From being an outsider all his life, he discovers people and music that he can identify with and his life seems to be on an upward spiral. Until, that is, he realises that even this new 'mod' world isn't quite as it seems.

The film is a mixture of words and music but the stage play is totally different. It is quite simply a rock opera and the entire story is told through the Who's incredible music and by the vivid acting of the four people who simultaneously play Jimmy. Yes, four people. At the same time. That may sound incredibly confusing but it works because the actors are so strong you believe in all the four individual parts that make up the whole.

Staged in just two acts, the play takes us from Jimmy's troubled home life to the beaches of Brighton where the mods verses rockers battles go on, but more importantly Jimmy's battles within himself intensify.

This is simply a superb production. The music is relentless, powerful and mesmerising – and the action on stage is exactly the same. An incredibly young cast display unlimited energy, passion and commitment and they leave you with the feeling that they are really living the various roles they inhabit.

At the end of two mesmerising hours, the faultless cast and musicians were rewarded with a thoroughly deserved standing ovation. They were applauding that rare beast – a rock opera that truly worked and which gave us all a truly absorbing and unforgettable evening.

Sam Holliday