Review: 20th Century Boy (UK Tour) at the New Wimbledon Theatre

20th Century Boy (UK Tour)

New Wimbledon Theatre

Reviewed on Monday 23rd June 2014

Charting Marc Bolan's life story, Gary Lloyd's new touring production of 20th Century Boy is wild and loud, but also interesting. Those thinking 'Marc who?' will be pleasantly surprised when they realise just how many T.Rex songs they're already familiar with.

Unexpectedly I found myself really drawn to Marc's story. The star, who died in 1977 days short of his 30th birthday, lived a fascinating life. The audience are shown what life was like inside and out of Marc's crazy bubble and eccentric mindset. The journey is huge and I grew protective of Marc who we first meet as a child with dreams of one day being bigger than Elvis. The show follows his story right up until the aftermath of his tragic death.

Warren Sollars steps into the spotlight and delivers the performance of a lifetime as Marc Bolan. I've seen Sollars pop up in various productions over the years, but until now he has never had the chance to show what he is capable of. His talents are astounding! The truth and strength in his performance is utterly mesmerising, he captures every essence of Marc as he grows and faces the troubles of fame and love.

Sadly the show has weaker moments. I struggled to get into the narration sub-plot which follows Marc's son (Rolan Bolan - what an amazing name!) who tries to discover more about the father he barely knew by visiting his long-lost Grandmother. Here the script is cringey and lacks sincerity. Sometimes I felt as if the only justification of these scenes was to give Sollars time to change into his next costume; it's a shame as these forced scenes disturb the smooth flow and disrupt the focus.

The second act dragged in places and could be sharpened to improve the build of tension. The inevitable ending is eventually powerful, but the final build lacks grittiness. The score is unsurprisingly incredible, at first I thought the music lacked a subtle theatrical feel (which is the secret behind fellow jukebox musicals Mamma Mia and The Bodyguard) but this improved and I grew to love the huge numbers; the band are terrific and Lucy Sinclair and Donna Hines dazzle with their spectacular vocal talents.

20th Century Boy is tremendous fun. T.Rex fans can expect to sit back and have an epically exciting evening at the theatre whilst others will be introduced to a man who influenced music history. It's important that this show introduces Marc and T.Rex to a new generation - who doesn't secretly love a bit of glam rock?!

Reviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)

20th Century Boy runs at the New Wimbledon Theatre until Saturday 28th June 2014. The production tours the UK until 19th July 2014. Please visit www.20thcenturyboythemusical.co.uk for further information, full tour dates and tickets.

Read our interview with Warren Sollars

Photo Credit:  Robert Day

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