Preview: WILKO: Love and Death and Rock ‘N’ Roll
September 22–26 – Malvern Theatre
Malvern welcomes a remarkable theatrical celebration of one of British rock’s most distinctive characters when WILKO: Love and Death and Rock ‘N’ Roll comes to town.
Written by Jonathan Maitland, this acclaimed play with live music tells the extraordinary story of Wilko Johnson – guitarist, songwriter and co-founder of legendary Essex pub-rockers Dr Feelgood – whose life took an astonishing turn in 2012 when he was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer.
Doctors told Wilko that his cancer was inoperable and that he had around a year to live. Refusing chemotherapy, Wilko decided to spend his remaining time doing the things that mattered most: seeing the people, places and things he loved during his remarkable life.
Then something extraordinary happened.
What had appeared to be a terminal diagnosis was overturned and Wilko underwent pioneering surgery, surviving against the odds and eventually returning to the stage and to music.
But WILKO: Love and Death and Rock ‘N’ Roll is about more than his remarkable recovery. It explores the man behind the black suit, the sharp movements and instantly recognisable guitar style; an artist whose raw, rhythmic playing helped define Dr Feelgood and influenced generations of musicians.
Emerging from Canvey Island in the early 1970s, Dr Feelgood became one of the key forces in British pub rock. Their stripped-back, high-energy performances helped pave the way for punk, while Wilko’s distinctive guitar style became an essential part of the band’s sound and image.
His later career brought collaborations with some of music’s biggest names, while a new generation of fans discovered him through his memorable role as Ser Ilyn Payne in Game of Thrones.
The production combines drama, storytelling and live music to bring Wilko’s extraordinary life to the stage. Following critical and audience acclaim at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch in 2024, it has subsequently played at Southwark Playhouse and Leicester Square Theatre in London’s West End before heading to Malvern.
For those who remember Dr Feelgood, this is a chance to revisit the extraordinary world of Canvey Island’s original rock ‘n’ rollers. For newcomers, it offers an introduction to one of British music’s great characters.
Ultimately, WILKO: Love and Death and Rock ‘N’ Roll is a story about music, mortality, friendship, love and the determination to keep going – with plenty of rock ‘n’ roll along the way.