Quadrophenia

Synopsis

Set in London and Brighton at the height of the Mod era, Quadrophenia is told through the eyes of Jimmy, a hedonistic style conscious teenager searching for a place to belong and a girl to love. Misunderstood by his parents and stuck in a dead end job, he sets off on a trip to Brighton that will change his life forever.

Our Review:

26 May 2009

Quadrophenia, Pete Townshend’s masterpiece, is the zenith of the ‘rock opera’ genre. On the surface, it's the story of a confused young man, Jimmy, coming to terms with manhood in a fast-changing world: 1960s Britain. The post-war period was seeing the values and assumptions of the previous generation being rejected, but without a coherent replacement. A new world view was being formed but like any cultural shift, the transition was bumpy and playing a part was no easy ride. Jimmy, and those he represents, is a cause and symptom of the times.

It is impossible to separate Quadrophenia from The Who, as they composed the music and inspired the script. Jimmy himself is a psychotic symbiosis of the four members of the band: the romantic, the hard man, the hypocrite and the lunatic. Similarly it was the band that influenced - and was influenced by - the post-war culture that was being formed around them. The question that drives the story is: wil...

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