Turning The Who’s iconic album into a stage show has required a complex marriage of dance and theatre, director Rob Ashford tells us
Pitched battles on Brighton seafront, amorous exchanges in alleyways and fleets of motorcycles and scooters hurtling along the streets. Faced with such scenes, it’s unlikely cinema-goers watching Quadrophenia in 1979 thought to themselves “this will make a great ballet one day.” A coming together of The Who’s album – released in 1973 and turned into a cult film six years later – and dance may seem unlikely. But this iconic tale of Mods and Rockers, filled with suited and booted passion and violence, is ripe for adaptation. Dance has the power to distill a mood, capture an atmosphere and convey emotion. Plus, who better to carry off the stylish attire and youthful energy of this British subculture than a group of highly trained dancers?
For Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet to do the story justice, however, it needed more than one pair of safe hands. A choreographer, of course, to create the steps (the very talented Paul Roberts, whose lengthy CV features the BalletBoyz, One Direction and the Olympics opening ceremony), but also a director. Rarely do dance productions have the budget for both roles, although it always pays dividends. But to capture the complex relationships, teen angst, and cultural zeitgeist of Quadrophenia, it was essential. It also helped that the show’s director, Rob Ashford has previously worked as a choreographer.
‘I think it gave us a nice shared language and made for a quicker and easier collaboration,’ he says. ‘I love the choreography and think Paul has done a beautiful job with it. But as well as sharing the workload, we also had a different focus. As the steps were being made, and Paul and the dancers were working hard, I was only thinking about what that movement meant to the story. The acting isn’t an overlay that we tried to put on top once all the choreography was done, it was a main ingredient not an afterthought. And I’m happy to report that the dancers loved it – they want more of it because it’s new to them.’
For both Roberts and Ashford, having Who co-founder Pete Townshend heavily involved in the project ensured his vision for the ballet remained central. ‘We all talked about this being a dance theatre piece, and Pete has been very specific about the story,’ explains Ashford.
[Pete Townshend] wrote a script to go along with his liner notes from the original album, explaining what he was thinking and why created what he did.
Even so, Ashford had his work cut out portraying some of the more conversational elements of the storyline. Large-scale fight scenes, dancing in night clubs and romantic interludes all lend themselves perfectly to dance. Less so the interactions between lead character Jimmy and the adults in his life, which are pivotal to the audience’s understanding of who this young man is.
‘The characters of Jimmy’s mother and father play into this story very strongly,’ says Ashford, ‘and we wanted to get into their psyche to understand how it affects Jimmy. So we’ve given a lot of time to their stalled marriage and lost dreams, and that post-war, working class idea that what you have is enough. But the reason young Mods dressed up and wore suits is they were aspiring to more. They didn’t want to be like their parents who were, in their minds, just settling. There’s a scene in the factory, for example, where the movement is very routine because that’s what life was like. It’s what Jimmy’s father does and what Jimmy is expected to do, but he rebels against it.’
A new orchestral version of The Who’s album, recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, is the musical backdrop to all this action. And that crucial element of Mods and Rockers culture, fashion, comes courtesy of costumes designed by Paul Smith. Beneath the surface, though, Ashford believes these two seemingly disparate youth groups were more alike than they might have believed at the time.
‘The different physicality of the two groups is something Paul has worked on and is part of the choreography,’ says Ashford. ‘But what I like is that –
– through all the bluster and posturing, when they get into the scrum, they’re all the same – they’re just kids. They’re all young people who are trying to matter, to be unique, to escape the past and move forward.
One such kid is Steph, made famous by Lesley Ash in the film and here known as “Mod Girl”. As one of the first dancers to play the role, Falkirk-born dancer Serena McCall found having both a choreographer and director at the helm was a huge boon. ‘Rob and Paul are a dream team and I pinch myself I get to work with them,’ she says. ‘They’ve both really helped me figure out my character. Paul has a clear vision for each role and what type of movement they will dance in the show. And Rob is a genius, the way he creates a narrative and then brings it to life is just amazing. We’ve talked a lot about why my character is doing something and what the motive is behind a particular step.’
Embodying a character that’s steeped in gang culture comes with all the thrill and none of the danger. Both Ashford and McCall describe the Quadrophenia company as ‘a little family’ off-stage, but according to McCall as soon as the music starts, the rivalry begins.
‘It’s a complete adrenaline rush,’ she says. ‘There’s a true gang dynamic and we’re all there for one another. When we split off into the Mods and Rockers for the fight on Brighton Beach, that scene is chaos but it’s good chaos. It’s so exciting and you really feel like you’re part of something. I’m a Mod in the show, so I look at all the other mods and we all have each other’s backs. If someone’s coming for me, they’ll immediately come and help me, and it’s the same with the Rockers.’
Pete Townshend’s
Quadrophenia – A Mod Ballet
18 – 21 June 2025 | Mayflower Theatre
Quadrophenia is back – this time as an explosive dance production with a large cast of exceptional dancers, introducing new audiences to troubled mod Jimmy’s story while remaining true in spirit to the much-loved original.
Prepare to be blown away as the power of dance brings a whole new dimension to the raw energy and emotion of one of the UK’s most iconic rock albums.
Article republished with thanks to The Scotsman