20th Century Boy is inspired by the life of rock legend Marc Bolan and is packed full of T.Rex's hits from the 1970s. Sound design is by Chris Whybrow, specifying the d&b audiotechnik Q-Series system with D80 amplifiers and DiGiCo SD10 mixing console.

The show tells the life story of Marc Bolan as part of his son Roland's journey to discover more about his father and his fast-paced life. Told in the present, with glimpses into the past and culminating in a full-scale rock'n'roll concert, the show combines three very distinct elements. Getting the right balance was the main challenge for Chris Whybrow's sound design, as he explains:

"The show combines passages of quiet naturalistic dialogue, musical theatre numbers and moves into a full volume gig, complete with the T-Rex rock band centre stage. The d&b audiotechnik Q-Series handles this range extremely well, giving us the natural clarity we needed as well as the power for the louder sequences.

"FOH is configured left and right with 12 x Q1s plus 2 x Q-Subs per side, with a combination of T10s and Q10s for the centre cluster. Q7s are on foldback for the cast, covering the entire stage. E6s provide the front fills, and the combination of a B2 Sub array and Q-Subs gives us great sub coverage and powerful bass for the live concert section of the show. The reverbs and effects are handled by the TC Electronics System 6000 and D-Twos. CSC Show control is utilised for sound effects and timecode, plus we are using the iPad application for the MD overview. We are using the new D80 amplifiers throughout, which are performing really well."

20th Century Boy was first staged and developed four years ago in Ipswich, followed by the second version in 2012 in Coventry, which involved the same creative team as the current tour. The show's content has remained broadly the same, albeit on a significantly expanded scale for 2014. At the end of the current tour, the plan is to move into the West End before the autumn schedule commences. The new show necessitated scaling up the mixing desk, with Chris specifying the DiGiCo SD10 to handle the 20-strong cast, the five-man band, and the additional associated increase in channel count. Opening in Manchester on 22nd April, the current tour runs until late June.

In addition to Chris himself, the full sound team for the show includes Dan Bailey as Production Engineer, Piers Archer as Sound Number 1, and Glenn Oxenbury as Sound Number 2.