20th Century Boy – G Live, Guildford & Touring 

20th Century Boy was reviewed at G Live, Guildford. The show continues touring the UK until 30 June 2018.

Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

20th Century Boy returns for a UK tour to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Marc Bolan’s tragic death at the age of 29. Unusually for a jukebox musical, while the music of T. Rex is – quite rightly – given pride of place in the score, the focus of the show’s narrative itself falls squarely on Bolan as frontman and songwriter, rather than on the band with which he is particularly associated.

Inevitably the star of the show is George Maguire, reprising the role of Bolan from previous productions in Coventry and Ipswich. Equally convincing when conveying his character’s nervous excitement for the ambitious music career to which he aspired and for his chemistry with Sarah Moss as Bolan’s wife June Child, he seems most at home when strutting idiosyncratically back and forth, guitar in hand, during the many numbers performed live on set.

Also returning to 20th Century Boy is writer John Maher, as director and musical supervisor. At the same time, the 2018 tour sees some significant changes, including a new script by Nicky Graham and Colin Giffin, themselves responsible in part for the show’s original concept.

Classic T. Rex hits such as ‘Ride a White Swan’, ‘I Love to Boogie’, and the titular ‘20th Century Boy’ are rendered with energy and enthusiasm throughout by the comparatively modest company. The piano-based ballad, ‘To Know Him is to Love Him’, provides some much-needed musical contrast for its emotional performance in duet by Moss and Amy Rhiannon Worth as Bolan’s mother, Phyllis Feld.

Ellena Vincent unquestionably stands out for her powerful vocals in the role of Gloria Jones. Kristina Lao delivers a strong performance early in the show as Bolan’s love interest Helen Shapiro, as does Derek Hagen as band manager Tony Visconti. One of the evening’s later highlights is the quartet ‘(Whatever happened to the) Teenage Dream’.

The use of archival images projected as backdrops, together with brief audio montages of iconic rock music from the era, are deft touches. In recounting episodes inspired by Bolan’s turbulent life, it is commendable that so much of the music is performed onstage by the live band, even if it does give 20th Century Boy the feel of a tribute act in concert at times.

While glam rock fans will no doubt be in their element, this production has the potential for wider appeal as well. However, the absence of provision of a programme – just a single printed sheet with the names of the cast and creative team, but no set list – together with the frequent over-balancing of the vocals by the backing band somewhat limited its accessibility to those unfamiliar with the music of Marc Bolan and T. Rex.

If anything, the show itself is in danger of giving a little too much: each of its halves is perhaps five 5-10 minutes longer than they need to be. By the time it had worked up to its climax, the audience were already on their feet, dancing in the aisles and clapping along to the music, leading to several of the cast members not receiving the applause they truly deserved during their mid-number curtain calls.

That notwithstanding, 20th Century Boy fulfils a valuable function in bringing the music of T. Rex to audiences both old and new, ensuring a fitting tribute to the rock star whom the media famously labelled ‘bigger than the Beatles’.

Christopher Wiley