20th Century Boy at The Bristol Hippodrome
Posted on: 2014-05-13
Our rating:
20th Century Boy is a typical juke box musical and thankfully Warren and the cast perform the songs brilliantly, performing hits such as 'Get It On', 'Ride a White Swan', 'I Love To Boogie', ?Children of the Revolution? and '20th Century Boy'.
20th Century Boy at The Bristol Hippodrome is a nostalgic look back at the life of Marc Bolan, lead singer of the rock band, T-Rex. Playing before a packed full house, the audience certainly appeared to lap up the musical tribute to Bolan.
The musical follows the standard formula of looking back at Bolan’s life, on this occasion through the journey his son, Rolan, takes to discover who his father really was.
The problem I have, is that I found the story pretty lightweight, lacking any real emotional depth. Only in the one scene, a duet of Cosmic Dancer between father and son (Warren Sollars’ Marc Bolan and Luke Bailey’s Rolan), did I feel connected to the story on any emotional level.
Rolan’s journey of discovery takes him to England where he meets his grandmother and other people who knew his father. At times I felt like I was watching Eastenders doing panto, such was the mock cockney and limited dialogue. My problem is that the characters aren’t developed and are used only as a vehicle to move on to the next song. Very little is revealed about Bolan’s life or the people who surrounded him.
20th Century Boy is a typical juke box musical and thankfully Warren and the cast perform the songs brilliantly, performing hits such as 'Get It On', 'Ride a White Swan', 'I Love To Boogie', ‘Children of the Revolution’ and '20th Century Boy'. The finale, a medley of T-Rex hits, had the audience up on their feet, feather boas and all.
I left feeling that those fans of Marc Bolan and T-Rex who had lived through his fame would enjoy the nostalgic look back at his life.
Having been born just a couple of years before his death, I discovered his music in my teens and count myself as a fan, yet without the appeal or sense of nostalgia, I found the lack of emotional connect a real disappointment. I can’t help wondering if I would have enjoyed a T-Rex tribute act performing in a pub a whole lot more.
2/5
Reviewed by BA for 365Bristol
Article by:
Born and raised in the suburbs of Swansea, Jimmy moved to Bristol back in 2004 to attend university. Passionate about live music, sport, science and nature, he can usually be found walking his cocker spaniel Baxter at any number of green spots around the city. Call James on 078 9999 3534 or email Editor@365Bristol.com.
