20th Century Boy at the Mayflower Southampton Review
20th Century Boy
Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
6-10 May 2014
Reviewed by Kerri Chard
Having grown up listening to music by many of the 70’s rock legends thanks to parents with very good taste in music but knowing very little about the individual bands and their stories, I was intrigued to see the Marc Bolan Story told on stage. The band name T-Rex definitely rang a bell and after some internet research I realised just how many of their songs I recognised and indeed had enjoyed as a child.
On arrival to the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton, a venue that I frequent often and always enjoy thanks to friendly staff, great facilities and wave after wave of epic shows, it was clear to see that Marc Bolan had a following of very loyal fans. Clearly he had a big impact on a music loving generation. I was surrounded by electric chitter chatter which really created a fun, anticipating atmosphere. As we entered the theatre we were treated to a background soundtrack of popular 70’s hits from the likes of Bowie which instantly triggered a wave of nostalgia and got everyone reminiscing whilst they waited for the performance to start.
20thCentury Boy is directed and choreographed by industry legend Gary Lloyd who boasts such a back catalogue of successful shows I don’t even know where to start. His experience and talent as a director really come to fruition through this retelling of the Marc Bolan story. Like me, Gary knew very little about the Marc Bolan story when he was first approached with this project, yet his ability to capture the emotive essence of one persons’ life and tell it through the life of others is genius.
The story really takes you on a journey and captures your heart from start to end. In fact, I found it be a bit of an emotional rollercoaster: one minute I was giggling away to the brilliant performance of Phyllis Field, played exceptionally by Sue Jenkins, the next minute I was welling up to emotional scenes and songs between Marc Bolan and his son Rolan Bolan, Warren Sollars and Luke Bailey respectively. Rolan Bolan is at the helm of the story. Gary Lloyd very successfully uses Rolan’s quest to discover who his father ‘really was’ to tell the story from a new dimension.
The cast as a whole were exceptional. Luke Bailey in particular surprised me with his great singing voice and each performer took on and harmoniously delivered a number of characters. But it was Warren Sollars as Marc who of course had the toughest job. Portraying such a legend of the stage and his revolutionary attitude towards performance and presentation, as well as learning iconic songs and playing the guitar with gusto must have been extremely challenging. Warren should be commended for his interpretation of Bolan which was both uncanny and as authentic as you could hope for. Hard core T-Rex fans will not be disappointed.
The show includes performances of many of the T-Rex songs such as ‘Hot Love’, Get it on’ and ‘Telegram Sam’, which Gary Lloyd cleverly uses in timeline and context to deliver to the audience a concert experience. The only drawback to this arrangement and indeed the entire show is that the second half is lacking in T-Rex music but this is made for up by the encore. Also, the story was moved along by a handful of other songs which give the surrounding characters a voice and deepen the emotional journey both the characters and the audience are taken on right up to the very end. I should mention at this point that I was glad to see that the set is kept very simple so that the cast and the performance can effectively set the scene and tell the story without detracting to make unnecessary furniture arrangements.
Get ready to boogie! We were treated to some fantastic encores at the end of the show with everyone up on their feet to the cast’s final T-Rex concert sprinkled with a few familiar Marc Bolan performing friends such as Helen Shapiro.
This show tells a home grown triumph story which will undoubtedly make you feel patriotic. Although a very sad story, Marc Bolan’s influence on a generation of music and attitudes lives on through this telling of his life. T-rextasy may have been born in the 70s, but the Glam King’s legacy which is frozen in time by his untimely death still has the power to influence new generations. Bravo to everyone that worked hard to bring this tragic yet triumphing story to the stage.
And thank you to the Mayflower for once again proving a very accommodating venue.
Rating: 4.5/5
Tickets cost from £15 to £32
For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 02380 711811.
Mayflower Theatre, Commercial Road, Southampton, SO15 1GE | 02380 711811
