The hit musical, 20th Century Boy is inspired by the life of rock legend Marc Bolan, returning to the stage to mark the 40^th anniversary of the iconic star’s untimely death. Featuring classic T.Rex 70s hits Ride a White Swan, Metal Guru, I Love to Boogie, 20th Century Boy and many more. Susan Duke went along to the show and this is what she had to say…

Had Marc Bolan lived he would have been a similar age to me. But it was not to be. He died in a car crash when only twenty nine – so he  never saw his son grow up, his career fluctuate with changing tastes or experience the aging process and all that entails. In this weeks production at The Grand Theatre, ’20th Century Boy, The Musical’ – the character of Bolan states that as he died his life flashed before him- and whether or not this happened we will never know.

What those of us of a similar age do know is that these sort of musicals, with familiar great songs such as Children of the Revolution, Metal Guru, Ride a White Swan and flash backs of newspaper cuttings and changing fashions in clothes, make us also experience our own lives flashing before us –  with fleeting  memories resulting in emotions –  both happy and sad. Glad to have lived through such wonderful times, ‘as happy as the grass was green’ and sad because it’s the past – another country where we did things differently.

And so we were taken from childhood to arrogant youth, Mod fashions and mini skirts to dandy clothes and makeup, hunger to greed, love to betrayal and finally new life and then death. The dream was over – and the fact that his corpse was still  beautiful was the only consolation.

Written by: Susan Duke