In 2012, Wilko Johnson, the iconic rock star and founder of legendary Essex band Dr Feelgood, was told he had inoperable cancer and a year to live. 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.
Then, a miracle happened…
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| Johnson Willis as Wilko Johnson. Photo by Mark Sepple |
A mixture of words, rock ‘n’ roll, and quotes from the man himself, Wilko: Love and Death and Rock ‘n’ Roll tells the amazing, uplifting true story of Wilko, the Canvey Island legend. A play with live music, transfers to Southwark Playhouse Borough following critical and audience acclaim in its initial run at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch in 2023.
Returning the role of Wilko Johnson is the excellent Johnson Willis whose performance was critically acclaimed during the run in Hornchurch. We sat with Johnson to learn more about the show.
What can you tell me about Wilko?
From what I can tell, Wilko was a free spirit and travelled wherever the path led him. He had little parental help and with music as his guide explored every aspect of the rock and roll life.
He was wild, raw and passionately creative having little concern for outcome and he embraced his cancer diagnosis in much the same way. ‘ I wanna live, the way I like’.
What first drew you to this role?
When I read his book ‘Don’t Leave Me Here’ I was constantly taken aback by the similarities of experience between Wilko and me. Things like his family life or his first guitar. Both he and I had a Watkins Rapier guitar and like he said it was awful. He later had a 1962 Telecaster, mine was a 1972 Telecaster. We both played in bands, he in Essex, me in Kent. The list goes on and in some ways it seemed like Wilko was already a part of me.
What challenges does playing a real-life person bring?
The greatest challenge of playing Wilko, knowing that he has not long been gone, is that his family, his friends and his fans are all acutely aware of the enormous influence he had on their lives. This made me want to do it first and foremost for them.
Having played in the show during it's premiere last year, how much are you looking forward to returning to this part?
To be able to share it with more people, to be able to get together with the band again, to be able to take that journey one more time is an absolute gift.
How do you mentally and physically prepare for a role like this?
It’s funny to think that preparing for this role, if I took the Wilko way, would mean not doing very much. He celebrated the fact that he never rehearsed and played his guitar very little between gigs. That said he gigged a lot so for me it’s going through the music and trying to play like him, or Mick Green, who is who he tried to emulate. I’ll never really get there but I’ll have a lot of fun trying.
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| L-R Johnson Willis, David John & Jon House (Wilko, Queen's Theatre Hornchurch). Photo by Mark Sepple |
When did you know that you wanted to perform?
I never had a deep desire to perform, I just didn’t want to do anything else.
How do you reflect on your career to date?
I’ve been very lucky in as much as Repertory Theatre was still going when I started acting so I was able to get a good foundation on which to build. There have been some directors who have been hugely influential and opened amazing doors for me. It’s true that the financial rewards for artistic endeavour are often not great but that isn’t why I do it.
I never had a deep desire to perform, I just didn’t want to do anything else.
How do you reflect on your career to date?
I’ve been very lucky in as much as Repertory Theatre was still going when I started acting so I was able to get a good foundation on which to build. There have been some directors who have been hugely influential and opened amazing doors for me. It’s true that the financial rewards for artistic endeavour are often not great but that isn’t why I do it.
What was the first piece of theatre you've seen that had a big impact on you?
I never went to theatre when I was young but when later I did, it was Linsey Kemp’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream that really opened my eyes.
What gives you inspiration?
Inspiration is a funny thing. It can come without knowing why. It can come with love. It can come with loss. The fact that it keeps coming is probably the most inspiring thing of all.
What would you hope an audience member takes away from seeing the show?
I hope the audience will be moved, either through shared experience or the discovery of something new within themselves. I hope they feel uplifted.
Where can audiences see the production?
Love Death and Rock’n Roll is on in London at the Southwark Playhouse from 20th March to the 19th April.
Tickets are available from https://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/productions/wilko/
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| L-R Georgina Fairbanks & Johnson Willis (Wilko, Queen's Theatre Hornchurch). Photo by Mark Sepple |
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