Quadrophenia: A Mod Ballet at The Lowry
Kristy Stott, Theatre Editor
An explosive new dance production, Quadrophenia: A Mod Ballet, heads to The Lowry in 2025, bringing a whole new dimension to The Who’s iconic rock album.
More than half a century on from its release, The Who’s concept album will be revived as a ballet in an exciting collaboration with Sadler’s Wells and Universal Music UK. The show will premiere in the South, however, luckily for us, the show heads up North – to The Lowry – as the final venue on its UK tour.
Written by Pete Townshend, the original work was recorded by The Who in 1973 and quickly became a multi-million-selling album. Defining a whole generation, the album went on to inspire the cult classic feature film of the same name, released in 1979.
Bringing together some of the UK’s finest creative talent and featuring a large cast of exceptional dancers, Quadrophenia: A Mod Ballet is expected to introduce new audiences to Jimmy’s story while remaining true in spirit to the original album. Rachel Fuller’s harmonic, orchestral arrangement of the infamous album, first heard in concert version at The Royal Albert Hall and recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, provides the rich backdrop for the movement on stage.
Conjuring up sharp suits, soul music, Vespas and parkas, Quadrophenia is steeped in the mythology of the 1960s. However, its exploration of themes like lost youth, rebellion, belonging and the drive for social change feel as urgent today as they were over 50 years ago.
With choreography by Paul Roberts and direction by Rob Ashford, with original costumes by well-known British fashion house Paul Smith, alongside Natalie Pryce, Quadrophenia: A Mod Ballet promises to be an explosive and highly visual theatrical response to one of the UK’s most iconic rock albums.
