WILKO: LOVE AND DEATH AND ROCK AND ROLL Comes to Southwark Playhouse Borough

The true story of Wilko Johnson, Dr Feelgood co-founder and rock ‘n’ roll pioneer, comes to the central London stage for Spring 2025. Bringing to life his words and music, Jonathan Maitland’s (The Interview, An Audience With Jimmy Saville) biographic gig theatre Wilko: Love and Death and Rock and Roll is a tribute to a man who left an indelible mark on the music scene.

A name that resonates with rock music enthusiasts and beyond, Wilko Johnson, the iconic rock star and co-founder of legendary band Dr Feelgood, was told he had one year to live in 2012. Refusing all treatment, he decided to spend his last months living meaningfully: seeing the people, places and things which meant most to him during his remarkable life… until a miracle happened. Delving deep into the life and times of this rock ‘n’ roll maverick, from his time with Dr Feelgood and Ian Dury and the Blockheads as one of the godfathers of the punk movement, to his acting career in Game of Thrones, the play blends live music, storytelling, and words from the Canvey Island legend himself, in a lesson in how to live life to the fullest.

Since its record-breaking run at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, the play has undergone further development and will feature new scenes and new music from Wilko’s back catalogue.

Writer Jonathan Maitland said, “I have been a huge fan of Wilko and Dr Feelgood since I saw him careering across the stage like a madman in the 70s. His music still sounds amazingly fresh and vivid today, as a whole new generation of rock fans are finding out. I first met him during the pandemic when he graciously agreed to let me tell his remarkable story.  A year later I spent a nerve-wracking day at his house in Southend reading him and his son Simon the first draft, doing all the voices myself. His only criticism was that details of his drug taking were wrong. He insisted we put the record straight, and we did, resulting in a scene that got laughs every night. Wilko was brave, funny and brilliant, which is why the Guardian described him as ‘A 20-1 shot to be voted our Greatest Living Englishman’.

If I could have chosen any theatre in Britain for the next stage of our play’s journey it would have been Southwark Playhouse Borough. The venue and the play suit each other perfectly.  Southwark has the perfect vibe: edgy but charming, down to earth but magical. Just like Wilko.”

A special gala night performance of the show in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust will be held on Saturday 22nd March where some of Wilko’s original artworks will be sold along with special photographic prints of him taken by cancer specialist and photographer Charlie Chan including “the photo that saved Wilko’s life” taken at his farewell Camden gig in 2013 which resulted in Wilko getting a second opinion on his terminal diagnosis. Additionally, there will also be a post-show Q&A featuring special guests to be announced.

Jonathan Maitland is a playwright and former journalist having worked for the BBC across Radio 4, BBC News and presenting and producing shows for BBC 1. Maitland’s debut stage play Dead Sheep (2015) produced at Park Theatre became the most successful production in the theatre’s history. This record was broken by his second play also staged at Park Theatre An Audience With Jimmy Saville (2015), which went on to transfer to Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Further works at Park Theatre include Deny Deny Deny (2016) and the box office record breaking The Last Temptation of Boris Johnson (2019) which went on to complete an eight-week national tour in 2020. Most recently, Maitland presented the premiere of his new play The Interview at Park Theatre and his BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Wasps in a Jam Jar in 2023 as well as How To Survive Your Mother running opening in late October this year at the King’s Head Theatre. 

Southwark Playhouse is a registered charity that delivers a year-round programme of entertaining and enriching work. Southwark Playhouse operates two separate venues ‘Southwark Playhouse Borough’ and its newest theatre ‘Southwark Playhouse Elephant’ which opened in January 2023. Southwark Playhouse has always prided itself in telling stories and inspiring the next generation of storytellers and theatre makers, where support for the community has been rooted at the core of the organisation.

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