There are four sides to Jimmy, the main character in The Who’s grand rock opera Quadrophenia.

To underline that, there are four actors playing the troubled young mod in this new stage production – capturing the romantic, lunatic, tough guy and hypocrital sides to his personality.

The concept of four actors playing one role is not the only difference from Franc Roddam’s famous 1979 cinematic portrayal of the mods and rockers’ battles on Brighton beach.

The production has gone back to the original source material – The Who’s double concept album from 1973 and Pete Townshend’s short story in the liner notes.

“A lot of people coming to see it expect a replica of the film,” says Ryan O’Donnell, who stars as Jimmy’s romantic persona. “But we’ve got no dialogue at all – it is music from start to finish.”

The stage show is based around 16 young actors, backed by a nine-piece live band, powering through the album and acting out the scenarios described in Pete’s original short story.

“Pete was with us from the second week of rehearsals through to the opening week,” says Ryan. “He didn’t talk that much or pass judgement. If you asked him a question, though, he would talk at length about everything.”

The original concept for Quadrophenia came when Pete was building a private countryside studio for himself and a commercial studio in London for The Who.

“In the midst of this came the news that quadraphonic sound was about to arrive as a domestic format on vinyl records,” Pete says. “The two new studios were designed as the first quadraphonic rooms in the world.

“At the same time I felt I wanted to compose a set of songs about the internal struggle I saw so many of my peers still experiencing. A lot of them seemed to have drug and alcohol issues that had turned into psychoses.”

The original concept for the album was to have a four-faceted character coming at the listener from four speakers, with the notion that a member of The Who could reflect each facet of Jimmy’s character.

The chosen time period of the closing years of the mod era reflected the fact that many of Pete’s immediate peers had been mods.

The current stage show started life as a trial project at the Royal Welsh College Of Music And Drama, where Ryan had recently graduated.

“The year below me got to perform it as their third year production,” he says.

“I was wowed by the show. When I heard they were doing a UK tour I got my foot in the door as soon as possible.”

When the tour started in Plymouth three months ago Ryan played Jimmy as the central character, with the other personality traits performed by a trio of supporting actors in different costumes.

Now all four dress the same and adopt chunks of the singing duties, taking some of the pressure off Ryan and his voice – testament to the ongoing changes as the show tours around the country before its official press night in Brighton.

“We are trying to make it the best it can be,” says Ryan. “We are in rehearsals all day, every day, which is unusual. Normally they stop after the first two weeks on tour.”

Other characters within the rock opera include Jimmy’s Mum and Dad, the Ace Face, and The Godfather, a washed up pop star who sings a trio of songs from The Who’s back catalogue.

For this stage play The Girl, played by Sydney Rae White, has been put more centre stage.

“On the album we only observed the girl from Jimmy’s screwed-up point of view,” says Pete. “In the film, and more so in our play, we see her as a real person, with her own story to tell and her own frustrations about what mods did and did not achieve.”

Don’t expect the infamous South Lanes alleyway tryst from the film to make an appearance.

“The scene in the alley was never in the short story or in any of the lyrics,” says Ryan. “We do have a scene between myself and the girl, but it’s not as rough and ready as in the film.”

Despite its period setting, Ryan still believes Quadrophenia has a lot to say to the kids today.

“It’s the story of every young girl or boy trying to find their identity and make the transition into adulthood,” says Ryan.

“There’s the novelty of finding drugs and music – and the realisation they are not the be all and end all of everything.”

  • Starts 7.30pm (except Fri), 5.30pm and 8.30pm Fri, 2.30pm Sat, tickets from £20.

Call 08448 717650.