Latest news with #ClassicQuadrophenia
New Statesman
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New Statesman
Quadrophenia the ballet is a storm of movement
Photo by Johan Persson The Who's rock opera Quadrophenia has had many lives since it was released in 1973: a film (1979, directed by Franc Roddam); a stage musical adaptation; a 2015 orchestral album, Classic Quadrophenia, featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and tenor Alfie Boe. Now, this Sixties subculture tale has been revived in a rather unlikely medium: ballet. Quadrophenia: A Mod Ballet follows the story of a young mod, Jimmy (Paris Fitzpatrick), who rejects his parents' way of life, struggles with unrequited love, and is caught in a rivalry between the mods and the leather-jacket-wearing rockers. The score is the arrangement created by the Who guitarist Pete Townshend's partner, Rachel Fuller, for the 2015 album – minus the vocals. In homage to the film, the performance exudes a cinematic quality through its use of multimedia. Naturalistic backdrops are projected into the black‑box theatre – sometimes on to a mesh screen in front of the dancers. Additional layers are added by Fabiana Piccioli's lighting design: the cool blue wash of the sky, the warm golden glow of streetlamps, and the neon flash of a dive‑bar scene, where dancers gather in Twiggy‑style dresses and sharp suits by the costume designer Hannah Teare. Here, 'ballet' is a loose term: pointe shoes and split-sole slippers are swapped out for LaDuca brogues. Paul Roberts's choreography eschews the highly formalised steps of the genre, favouring flexed feet over the point, and parallels to turn-outs. There are echoes of classical style, as in the Godfather's (Matthew Ball) fouettés in his solo, but even here the smooth line is broken by a flexed foot. Roberts's attention to force and flow creates a dynamic performance, with stunning holds and lifts. But while the choreography is visually pleasing, and the themes of identity and masculinity are as relevant today as 50 years ago, Jimmy's story gets lost in the storm of movement. If narrative is what you're after, the film might be a better choice. Quadrophenia: A Mod Ballet Sadler's Wells, London EC1 [See also: 4.48 Psychosis is a disturbing dissection of the mind] Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Related
Scotsman
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Rachel Fuller on creating the soundtrack for Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet: 'the whole thing has felt magical'
Rachel Fuller's moment of epiphany came when she wrote a children's ballet during lockdown, she tells Fiona Shepherd Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... When Pete Townsend originally wrote Quadrophenia in the early 1970s, he heard the music in his head as a fully orchestrated suite. Unable to read music, he used the (superb) instruments at this disposal – Keith Moon's drums, John Entwistle's bass, Roger Daltrey's voice and his own guitar - to convey his vision. In 2015, the iconic 'mod opera' was finally reinvented as Classic Quadrophenia, an album and concert tour with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and singers Alfie Boe and Billy Idol, with arrangements by Townsend's wife, the composer Rachel Fuller. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Rachel Fuller and Pete Townsend pictured at the 77th Tony Awards in New York, 16 June 2024 | AFP via Getty Images 'I stayed really faithful to the original format,' says Fuller. 'I tried to arrange in a way that I felt Pete would do, so I didn't change keys or mess around with the melodic lines. Often I would listen to John Entwistle's bassline and I would score the double basses exactly to what he was playing.' The roots of Quadrophenia's latest rebirth came when Townsend first heard Fuller's instrumental demos and remarked that the score would make a great ballet soundtrack. 'I'd never been to the ballet,' says Fuller. 'It was not something I particularly connected with. I don't have a graceful bone in my body.' Fuller's classical dance epiphany came when she wrote a children's ballet called Bee in lockdown. Armed with contacts in the field and a new appreciation of the form, she picked up on Townsend's original impulse, repurposing her orchestral arrangement without vocals to produce the soundtrack for Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet. Pete Townshend of The Who on stage at Granby Hall, Leicester, 18 October 1975 | Getty Images Fuller hopes it will resonate with ballet and non-ballet fans alike. 'I think the story of a teenage boy who's struggling with identity, with sense of self, with belonging, with fitting in, it's a universal story that people are going to connect with, especially young men who are going through a similar thing.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Fuller has her own affinity with the theme of not fitting in, having only recently been diagnosed with ADHD after a childhood of being 'seen as a fidgety girl who talked too much and found it hard to focus and pay attention. As a result of that I internalised everything and ended up with chronic anxiety by the age of ten.' Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend of The Who perform at the Capitol Theater, Passaic, New Jersey on 10 September 1979. | Getty Images Fuller found respite in music, forging a career mainly as a composer and arranger. She also released an album of her own songs in 2004 but feels she has put her singer/songwriter days to bed. 'My voice doesn't match up with my personality,' she says. 'In person, I'm quite loud and vulgar, but when I sing I sound like a nun. Maybe because my brain is wired slightly differently and I think outside the box it's particularly suited to composing and arranging orchestras so I think it's been part of my creative journey.' As for her work on Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet, she says 'the whole thing has felt magical. Our hope is that people have a good night out, that they can put their life on a hook and be present and have their soul moved. People can sing along – I'm hoping they won't, but inside they might!' Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet is at Edinburgh Festival Theatre from 10-14 June Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad This feature was produced in association with Capital Theatres WIN: £400 PAUL SMITH PRIZE DRAW WITH HARVEY NICHOLS Everyone who buys a ticket for Quadrophenia: A Mod Ballet at the Festival Theatre will be entered into a prize draw to win £400 credit and a Personal Shopping experience in Paul Smith at Harvey Nichols, Edinburgh, see
