Jonathan Maitland’s musical tribute to Wilko Johnson is ‘a play with music’. Indeed, “it’s not a jukebox musical,” as the lead character says emphatically mid-show. It is a biography, an insight into the life and times, ideas and ambitions of the central character. And yes, there’s a lot of great music played with enthusiasm, but it’s really about Wilko the man, not just Wilko the punk musician whose star shone brightly but briefly.
When this reviewer attended, the intimate Leicester Square Theatre was largely filled with Wilko fans of a certain age, but the show is just as accessible to audiences who don’t know the musician at the centre of Dr Feelgood, a band that was the biggest in the UK “for a moment in the mid-1970s”. He also found a second five minutes of fame some years later as a mute executioner in Game of Thrones.
Wilko was an Essex boy from a very working-class family who never forgot his childhood in Canvey Island, described here as “an Essex-based suburb of Hades”. In 2012 he was told he had cancer and only had 12 months to live. He refused chemotherapy, made a critically-acclaimed album with Roger Daltrey of The Who and played a sold-out farewell tour. He was even applauded in the press as ‘the greatest living Englishman’. But there had been a misdiagnosis and he didn’t die – at least not until some years later. It was in that intervening period that playwright Jonathan Maitland worked with him on this ‘play with music’. Sadly, Wilko did die at 75, just before the play’s first run last year at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, but he had approved the show’s final ‘warts and all’ script.
Johnson Willis delivers a masterful performance as Wilko, all Essex vowels and bolshie mannerisms. It’s clear he was a piece of work, deliberately offensive to almost everyone. And he obviously embraced that, both in life and in the play script. The person who no doubt suffered most from his ill-humour was his loyal and loving wife Irene, played here with real feeling by Georgina Fairbanks. She is a delight to watch and makes a wonderful contrast to Wilko’s arrogance and impatience. They were teenage sweethearts and she stayed with him despite his many infidelities. Her death from cancer is one of the really touching moments in the play. We also see some other aspects of Wilko’s character, including his unlikely passion for ancient Icelandic poetry and his interest in astronomy – not astrology, “astrology is b*****ks”.
Wilko’s musical match was Lee Brilleaux, the stomping, swaggering Dr Feelgood frontman. Jon House is magnetic with his strutting machismo and storming vocals. And he can do amazing things with a gob-iron (harmonica). David John is powerful on drums, as Big Figure, can also beat out a fine tune on the spoons. And Georgina Field absolutely shines as Sparko, Dr Feelgood’s bassist John B Sparks. Together, they fill the stage with music and personality. The cast all play bit parts as needed, apart from Willis who stays in character as Wilko throughout. These are probably the weakest moments in the show because the minor parts are just one-dimensional storytelling devices and we’re fully invested in the performers as their main characters.
The set by Nicolai Hart-Hansen makes it feel like every dingy pub theatre room you’ve ever seen, full of shabby furniture and worn-out rugs. There’s also good lighting, keeping the focus on Wilko, but also creating intimacy and immediacy. Unfortunately, there was a short break at this performance due to a technical fault, but it was rapidly fixed and the cast powered on as though nothing had happened.
The show ends, as it should, with a rousing encore. In a unique twist the cast is joined by special guest performers each night. At this performance they were joined by Wilko’s son Simon Johnson, guitarist with Eight Rounds Rapid, and Norman Watt-Roy who’d played with the Wilko Johnson Band and Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Photographer and cancer doctor Charlie Chan, who was also a close friend, came on stage too. This is a brilliant touch, giving a real authenticity to the show and reminding us that this is the story of a real person. The special guests for each performance are listed on the booking site, so audiences can pick who they’d like to see.
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Wilko: Love and Death and Rock ‘n’ Roll absolutely lives up to its name. It’s got pounding rock ‘n’ roll, larger than life characters, and a warm heart. And yes, it’s all about life and death and everything in between. With premium tickets at just £35 for a theatre in the epicentre of the West End, it’s a guaranteed great night out.
Wilko: Love and Death and Rock’n’Roll by Jonathan Maitland
Leicester Square Theatre
Director: Dugald Bruce-Lockhart
Set and Costume Designer: Nicolai Hart-Hansen
Lighting Design: James Stokes
Composer and Sound Designer: Simon Slater
Costume Designer: Caroline Hannam
Associate Sound Designer: Max Marchment
Cast: Johnson Willis, David John, Georgina Fairbanks, Jon House, Georgina Field
Wilko: Love and Death and Rock’n’Roll will be performed until 27 July 2025 then touring to the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham from 5- 9 August.
