Let It Be continue at the Garrick Theatre, London. Picture: Paul Coltas
Let It Be continues at the Garrick Theatre, London until 27 September, before going on tour.
Star rating: 5 stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Let It Be is back in the West End for the third time, shamelessly packing audiences in by simply staying true to itself. Retro TV screens playing archive footage and hilarious vintage ads surround the stage and transport us back to 1962 and the Liverpool Cavern where the humble clean-cut Merseyside lads begin singing in neat grey suits and Beatle haircuts.
A non-stop whirlwind eight-year journey through to 1970 continues with their 1963 Royal Variety Performance appearance at the Prince of Wales Theatre when John Lennon famously asked those up in the cheaper seats to clap their hands and those in the posh seats to rattle their jewellery.
Beatlemania takes hold internationally when The Beatles conquer America coast to coast, from New York and the Ed Sullivan Show to the nationwide charts and the Shea Stadium, where the screaming is so loud the boys cannot even be heard.
The screens turn psychedelic by 1967 when kaleidoscopic hallucinations of the Magical Mystery Tour and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band take over, and the lads change into their bright jackets before then evolving into the bearded, hippy, mystic, flower-power, peace and love anti-establishment gurus of the late 1960s.
I defy anyone not to love this show. I have to admit I went with fairly low expectations, believing it likely to be a lazy jukebox show. I could not have been more wrong.
These guys are seriously great musicians – playing 43 hits from 12 albums – and pretty convincing actors also. The sound is so clear (kudos to sound designer Gareth Owen), and there are great visuals with slick costume changes from style to style (despite the odd dodgy wig or moustache).
Let It Be is not a musical in the traditional sense of musicals, not a biopic like The Jersey Boys, nor the story behind the success like Beautiful – The Carole King Musical, and there is no cheesy story linking all the songs together (which works a treat for Mamma Mia!). Instead, it is simply a fantastic flashback to those magical eight years when The Beatles literally did rule and change the musical world.
There is lots of banter with the audience throughout the show. Although we know we’re not watching the real thing, we get a strong sense of what it must have been like and just how charismatic and startling The Beatles must have been to see live.
The five musician/actors on stage are technically accomplished, convincing and charismatic. Members of this 2015 audience certainly went wild in any case as they sang along and enjoyed a trip down memory lane.
There is a company of 11 with five musicians playing every show – the fifth member of the band plays (great) piano and synths. Playing the Fab Four at this performance were Emanuele Angeletti (so convincing as Paul that it was scary): Paul Canning’s cool, slightly detached John sent chills down the spine; Ringo, aka Luke Roberts, cheerfully played the drums (and occasionally sang) centrestage, also exuberantly waving varying Union Jack flags throughout; and John Brosnan was the quieter, more mellow George, performing a really wonderful guitar solo during ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’. I particularly enjoyed the acoustic guitar section played by Paul, John and George.
My first ever record was a birthday present of the double A-sided No 1 singles ‘Please Please Me’ and ‘From Me to You’ and I wore the record player out playing it. I was too young to go to pop concerts, but I remember the excitement of yearning to be a proper teenager when I could go and scream at the Beatles myself.
Let It Be may not be a new musical but it is a reminder that The Beatles songs still blaze a trail, still weave their magic and truly comfort and raise the spirits. The theatre was buzzing at the end. If we can’t actually see the real Beatles live, this is as close as it gets. Tremendous!
Catherine Françoise
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