Dystopia: The Rock Opera – Falkirk, The Rock Bottom

Dystopia: The Rock Opera

The Rock Bottom

Falkirk

21 March 2025

Beldon Haigh bring their politically fuelled rock opera Dystopia to The Rock Bottom in Falkirk,  and it’s a blast from start to finish! Nigel Carr reports for Louder Than War.

There have been a few rock operas over the years, Mike Bennett and I even discussed the subject on our radio show – what’s a rock opera? What’s a concept album? We expertly, of course, sifted through all the great ones, The Who’s Quadrophenia and Tommy, and of course, the original, SF Sorrow by the Pink Fairies. Each of these centred around a one or two central characters and their escapades, whether that be Tommy, the deaf, dumb and blind kid, Jimmy and The Face, and SF Sorrow himself. Beldon Haigh’s Dystopia takes the whole genre to a new level with an explosive allegorical satire of MAGA or Make America Great Again – in this case MDGA – Make Dystopia Great Again, capturing perfectly the zeitgeist of 2025!

The scene is set with the band sporting uncannily accurate rubber masks – Duggy Coulter on bass is ‘Touchy’ Trump, drummer Sean Harkins is ‘Polonium’ Putin, and lead guitarist Willie Logan is Kim Jong ‘Elvis’ – an unnerving character with a perma-grin and outlandishly large sideburns! The band is fronted by writer, singer and storyteller, Justin Skelton, singer Fiona Lynch plays ‘Helen Raiser’, Dru Baker is on keyboards, sax and flute, wearing a long mad wig and tam-o’-shanter and takes on the Trumpish President Blame and Magnanimous Moon, the two characters, central to the story.

The opera is set in the fictional country of Dystopia which is presided over by President Blame with his billionaire, Musk inspired Oli Flashman pulling the strings. And so starts the perfect opportunity to poke fun at the madness of the Trump administration in 2025! Each section of the opera is underpinned by a different track, with 14 songs played throughout the show, from out and out stadium rock, through funk, classic rock and reggae.

Opening with the London Calling beat of Dumpster Fire the audience is immediately drawn in. It’s a big opener and sets the scene. Front man Justin weaves the story through the musical interludes with help from a manic looking Dru, who cycles through his different parts, adding a pantomimic punch with his swirling keys and sax. What follows is a barrage of quality songs delivered by Beldon Haigh, fronted by Justin and his amazing sidekick Fiona Lynch, as Helen Raiser, whose vocals remind me of Claire Torry’s work on Roger Water’s Radio K.A.O. S.

The first half finishes with the heart breaking ballad Flowers, which a clearly emotional Justin said, brought back memories of the loss of his father. In true musical style there’s no single style to the opera.

There’s a short break before we continue into the second half. I won’t spoil the story, but there’s a Moon on a Stick political party controlled by charismatic leader Magnanimous Moon, and even a cryptocurrency thrown in for good measure! What comes across more than anything is how the audience at The Rock Bottom is wowed by the quality of the songs being delivered by what can only be described as a bunch of virtuoso performers. Willie Logan’s guitar shredding is simply spellbinding, and after a while you don’t notice the madness of the masks parading around the stage!

You’d have to be pretty audacious to name a political song Elected, but here it comes, and it’s a cracker! The show ends with the Latin rhythms of Hermano, before closing with the epic anthem Happiness with confetti exploding all around us. The band doesn’t want to finish, as more and more confetti bombs go off, but finish they do, and you can feel the electricity and emotion on  every smiling face and between every clapping hand.

I spoke briefly with Falkirk MP Euan Stainbank who had been dancing at the front. “I think Flowers was brilliant, I was crying, It touched me, and I think everyone can relate to that. I loved the show”. A glowing endorsement from your local MP can’t be bad!

Dystopia is a major achievement for Justin and the band. With the current administration in the White House sending shockwaves around the world, there is no end to the madness that can be incorporated into this show, providing endless fun for the band and the returning viewer.

A rollicking rollercoaster of a show, Dystopia provides a beacon of hope in a darkening world. In Falkirk High street there is a white plaque on a building where Robbie Burns once stayed – the Bard himself might indeed be tickled at how effectively Dystopia dismantles and exposes today’s psychotic tyrants through satire and song.”

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Dystopia continues! From the 1^st to the 16^th of August Beldon Haigh take the show to the Edinburgh Fringe, playing the Grand Lodge – Grand Hall. Tickets available here: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/dystopia-the-rock-opera

Beldon Haigh is on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, as well as their own Website

Words by Nigel Carr, photos by Adrian Michalski. More writing by Nigel on Louder Than War can be found in his Author’s archive. You can find Nigel on Twitter and Facebook. Nigel is also the Producer of New Dawn Fades – A Play About Joy Division And Manchester which tours this October.