20th Century Boy

Synopsis

20th Century Boy is a celebration of the life of Marc Bolan and his band T.Rex. Rocker, poet, electric warrior, king of glam, godfather of punk - Marc Bolan tried many styles on for size in his search to become a superstar. Before his tragic death in 1977, a few days short of his 30th birthday, Bolan lived life at breakneck speed, creating a series of iconic images, a string of number one hits and an army of obsessive fans. This dynamic new musical looks behind the glitter and the sequins to discover what drove the "bard of Hackney" to become "bigger than the Beatles". Packed with 70's hits including Ride a White Swan, Metal Guru, Get It On, I Love To Boogie, Children of the Revolution and of course the title track 20th Century Boy!

Our Review:

Anne Morley-Priestman - 13 September 2011

There’s a lot of sound and quite a bit of fury. It’s fair to say that the first-night audience was extremely enthusiastic, but what for? A large creative team – writers Peter Rowe and Gary Lloyd (who also directs) with input from Brian Dunham, Colin Giffin and Nicky Graham and an excellent set design from Patrick Connellan – has put the sad story of Marc Bolan in front of us.

The main trouble, for me at any rate, is that the narrative and the tribute band element don’t really meld. Partly it’s the story of a quest; Bolan’s son Rolan leaves the US for London to discover more about the father who died (in a horrific car crash) when he was only two. His mother, soul singer Gloria Jones, was the driver on that night and has mixed feelings about her own guilt, her son’s journey and how he will react to the facts and the people he may encounter.

As Rolan (Craig Storrod) begins to track down his quarry, we see...

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Latest User Review

Roy - 5 October 2012:

As a fan off 4+ years i badly wanted to see Bolan given some recognition i saw this show twice and thought it was great, i thought George over did Marc's movements on the opening night but when i went back to see it he had improved. Marc was no angel im sure while on drink and drugs, and they maybe spent too much time on this. The part were Marc and June made love behind a sheet was silly. The way cosmic dancer and teenage dream were used in the play was something else tears were streaming down my face. the end of the show rocked, all in all i had a fantastic time, i really hope it goes to the west end....

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