Theatre Royal, Windsor – until 10th October 2026
Reviewed by Andrew and Kate Lawrence
4****
“You don’t have to live forever; you just have to live!”
John Wilkinson, better known as Wilko, was the acclaimed lead guitarist of “Dr Feelgood”, a band he co-founded that become one of the biggest punk bands in Britain during mid-1970s.
“Wilko”, the play, written by Jonathan Maitland, tells his story, from his early childhood, growing up in Canvey Island, his school and university education, meeting the love of his life and of course the many bands he formed, joined and departed throughout his colourful “rock-and-roll” career. Then, when diagnosed with terminal cancer, the play explains his euphoric transformation and exploration of everything it means to be alive, summed up succinctly in his own life lesson statement – “You don’t have to live forever, you just have to live!”
The play is a monologue delivered by Wilko, played by Johnson Willis, where he describes his story, but delivered in his cockney-Essex drawl style native tongue. An accent which disguises his academic prowess, his knowledge of books and ancient Icelandic poetry, but lands perfectly with your expectations of a punk rock guitar hero.
While music, and in particular punk-rock music, features heavily into this story, including the various interludes of Dr Feelgood hits performed by the talented cast, those performances are, in our opinion, not as “punk rock” as the original beast. Nevertheless, they do add context to the story telling and demonstrating how talented the cast are.
It’s another one of those plays where five actors play the parts of maybe 10 characters throughout the story. Jon House, playing Lee Brilleaux, the lead singer in the band plus other bit parts; Georgina Field, playing Sparko the bass guitarist, and again other bit parts; David John, playing ‘Big Figure’ the drummer and more parts and finally Lara Lemon mostly playing Irene Knight, Wilko’s wife. The acting is superb, and the band performances are commendable.
What certainly does shine through, is how Wilko delivers a very personal perspective on his own life and his transition from living in the fast lane, enjoying the spoils of sex, drugs and rock-and-roll, to becoming a terminally ill cancer patient and living life in full and totally in the present. A life lesson that perhaps we should all learn from.