Review: Wilko: Love and Death and Rock’n’Roll, Southwark Playhouse

After being told he had only a year to live, Wilko Johnson chose to forgo chemotherapy for his cancer diagnosis and instead spent his remaining time doing what he loved most: writing songs and performing. Wilko: Love and Death and Rock’n’Roll, playing at Southwark Playhouse, depicts the life of the Essex lyricist and guitarist, one of the founding members of Dr Feelgood. Yet due to its one-dimensional script, it unfortunately fails to give us a true sense of who he was.

Portrayed by Johnson Willis, Wilko’s mannerisms and speech patterns are, for the most part, well executed, though Willis occasionally veers into caricature. The play depicts Wilko’s life from childhood but the audience is given no real sense of time passing except for the earlier years, when he talks back to a teacher and gets giddily excited over a first date. Frustratingly, Willis doesn’t adjust his performance to reflect the different stages of Wilko’s life.

Quite early on we are introduced to Wilko’s childhood sweetheart, Irene Knight (Georgina Fairbanks). Unfortunately, Willis and Fairbanks lack chemistry, causing poignant moments in the play to fall flat, such as when Wilko confesses to having an affair and loving another woman. The argument that ensues between the couple is casually brushed aside and never revisited, which feels rather abrupt. Willis and Fairbanks though do each have promising moments individually. For instance, Wilko’s speech about his visit to Japan where the sunshine reflects on the snow is poetic and beautifully delivered. However, this is not reflective of consistent acting.

The set depicts a rehearsal room with rugs, band posters and instruments, giving the impression that we have access to an intimate space. The lighting, designed by James Stokes, is more varied and dynamic, especially during the operating scene where a bright spotlight shines down on Wilko, who reaches his hands out through the beams, as if he is on the very brink of life and death.

The best moments come when the actors are playing the music. Songs like ‘All Through the City’ and ‘She Does It Right’ are certainly crowd pleasers and it’s clear everyone is enjoying themselves. However, there is little variety in these musical performances, due to the lack of choreography and the fact the set remains the same throughout; visually it just looks dull.

Similarly, there is little variety in the portrayal of the songwriting process – Wilko and his bandmates (Jon House, David John and Georgina Field) stand around shuffling from one foot to the other and “suddenly” inspiration strikes and the perfect lyrics are formed. Perhaps this is an accurate representation of songwriting, but it feels monotonous when repeated here. This and cliched band arguments (featuring random c-bombs dropped from off stage) result in a disappointing representation of Dr Feelgood.

I left the show eager to research Wilko’s life, as the play didn’t offer a substantial sense of who he was. Wilko’s life is exciting, impressive and inspiring, but the script needs improvement to portray it more effectively.

Written by: Jonathan Maitland
Directed by: Dugald Bruce Lockhart
Design by: Nicolai Hart-Hansen
Lighting design by: James Stokes
Sound design by: Simon Slater
Produced by: Denise Silvey

Wilko: Love and Death and Rock’n’Roll plays at Southwark Playhouse until Saturday 19 April.