LET IT BE
Cliffs Pavilion, Southend-on-Sea
Tuesday 12th January to Saturday 16th January 2016
Cliffs Pavilion, Southend-on-Sea
Tuesday 12th January to Saturday 16th January 2016
There's a quote I discovered on the internet recently, it says, “Music imprints itself on the brain deeper than any other human experience. Music evokes emotion and emotion can bring with it memory. Music brings back the feeling of life when nothing else can.”
With the recent outpouring of grief from hundreds of thousands of people around the world mourning the death of pop legend, David Bowie, this quote seems rather poignant and now, having watched the audiences reactions to “Let it Be”, it seems all the more so. The Beatles were huge; a band who are quoted in the show as being the “top pop music phenomenon of the century” have that same iconic status and their music also evokes memories to each and every person who ever listened to them.
‘Let it Be’ has been seen by over 1 million people worldwide and is jam-packed with over forty, yes forty, of The Beatles’ greatest hits.
It takes you back to The Beatles’ meteoric rise from their humble beginnings in Liverpool’s Cavern Club, through the heights of Beatlemania, to their later studio masterpieces, with live performances of early tracks including Twist and Shout, She Loves You and Drive My Car, as well as global mega-hits Yesterday, Hey Jude, Come Together and, of course, Let It Be.
The use of tv screens, radio and projections on the stage help to tell the story of the Fab Four’s rise to fame showing them in their early days at The Cavern, their visit to New York and the huge Shea Stadium concert, the infamous zebra crossing to Abbey Road studios and subsequently the Sergeant Pepper reincarnations. The musicians playing Paul, John, George and Ringo certainly are a fabulous four. They take the audience along with them on their magical mystery ride of success from the first song played “I Saw Her Standing There” right to the last song of the evening, “Hey Jude”.
Paul Canning (John Lennon), Ian Hornal (Paul McCartney), John Brosnan (George Harrison) and Luke Roberts (Ringo Starr) play the parts with expert musicianship and if you close your eyes, you could certainly believe that you were really at a Beatles concert. They even look like them - in particular Paul Canning as John Lennon, who has pretty darn near perfected all of the cheeky Liverpudlian’s characteristics. John Brosnan as George does a fabulous lead guitar (played on the record, of course, by Eric Clapton) when they perform “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”
With the recent outpouring of grief from hundreds of thousands of people around the world mourning the death of pop legend, David Bowie, this quote seems rather poignant and now, having watched the audiences reactions to “Let it Be”, it seems all the more so. The Beatles were huge; a band who are quoted in the show as being the “top pop music phenomenon of the century” have that same iconic status and their music also evokes memories to each and every person who ever listened to them.
‘Let it Be’ has been seen by over 1 million people worldwide and is jam-packed with over forty, yes forty, of The Beatles’ greatest hits.
It takes you back to The Beatles’ meteoric rise from their humble beginnings in Liverpool’s Cavern Club, through the heights of Beatlemania, to their later studio masterpieces, with live performances of early tracks including Twist and Shout, She Loves You and Drive My Car, as well as global mega-hits Yesterday, Hey Jude, Come Together and, of course, Let It Be.
The use of tv screens, radio and projections on the stage help to tell the story of the Fab Four’s rise to fame showing them in their early days at The Cavern, their visit to New York and the huge Shea Stadium concert, the infamous zebra crossing to Abbey Road studios and subsequently the Sergeant Pepper reincarnations. The musicians playing Paul, John, George and Ringo certainly are a fabulous four. They take the audience along with them on their magical mystery ride of success from the first song played “I Saw Her Standing There” right to the last song of the evening, “Hey Jude”.
Paul Canning (John Lennon), Ian Hornal (Paul McCartney), John Brosnan (George Harrison) and Luke Roberts (Ringo Starr) play the parts with expert musicianship and if you close your eyes, you could certainly believe that you were really at a Beatles concert. They even look like them - in particular Paul Canning as John Lennon, who has pretty darn near perfected all of the cheeky Liverpudlian’s characteristics. John Brosnan as George does a fabulous lead guitar (played on the record, of course, by Eric Clapton) when they perform “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”
Front: Luke Roberts, Iain Hornal
Back: Paul Canning, John Brosnan
Let it Be isn’t so much a ‘show’ about The Beatles but more of a ‘tribute band’ taking you gently through the various stages of The Beatles’ career. You won’t find out anything you didn’t already know about them I expect but what you will realise is just how popular and just how much pleasure they gave to so many people.
As I looked around at the audience at the Cliffs, it suddenly occurred to me that a lot of people were there to enjoy the memories that The Beatles’ music evoked. There can’t be one person who hasn’t heard of at least one Beatles song, whether you’re a fan or not or whether you're 19 or 90. As a child I always loved listening and singing along to “Yellow Submarine” and I was instantly taken back to my childhood living room, where we’d listen to the old radiogram that mum and dad had inherited from my granddad. I saw the lady in front of me wipe a tear from her eye at one point in the evening and it was obvious that there were many couples reliving their courting days from the sixties. Knowing smiles and chuckles also resounded when adverts were played for Gluv footwear, Prell Shampoo and Capstan cigarettes - a real sign of the times!
A highlight for me was when Paul, George and John sang “Here Comes the Sun” providing such amazing harmonies, it gave goosebumps; and despite swearing that I was definitely not going to get up and dance, somehow found myself swaying along, arms in the air, to "Hey Jude" during the finale - along with pretty much every other member of the audience.
Let it Be gives you the opportunity to travel back to the magical Sixties whether you were there or not.
Tickets are still available at www.southendtheatres.org.uk or call the box office on 01702 351135
Ask the Audience
Sue Hoy, 65, Leigh-on-Sea
“I thought it was brilliant and very moving. I loved all the old footage too and the effects were good. It really took me back to 1964 when I was 14 and my mum let me queue all night for tickets outside the Walthamstow Granada. That was in the April and they appeared in the October and me and my friend were in the 4th row from the front. There was wall to wall screaming. I’ll never forget it. This is such a good tribute to The Beatles. I especially liked John Lennon and George Harrison.”
“I thought it was brilliant and very moving. I loved all the old footage too and the effects were good. It really took me back to 1964 when I was 14 and my mum let me queue all night for tickets outside the Walthamstow Granada. That was in the April and they appeared in the October and me and my friend were in the 4th row from the front. There was wall to wall screaming. I’ll never forget it. This is such a good tribute to The Beatles. I especially liked John Lennon and George Harrison.”
Malcolm Hoy, 67, Leigh-on-Sea
“I’ve seen the real Beatles twice. I saw them in Finsbury Park in 1963. If you close your eyes you can just hear them, it was like I was back there. Mind you, when I saw them there was so much screaming, you couldn't even hear them but it was just fabulous to be there. It was an excellent show. I thought the staging and costumes were great.”
“I’ve seen the real Beatles twice. I saw them in Finsbury Park in 1963. If you close your eyes you can just hear them, it was like I was back there. Mind you, when I saw them there was so much screaming, you couldn't even hear them but it was just fabulous to be there. It was an excellent show. I thought the staging and costumes were great.”
Joyce Silk, 72, Billericay
“What a brilliant production, I thought it was marvellous. In the sixties we had lots of parties and The Beatles music was always playing. I thought the chap playing John Lennon had a really good tone.”
“What a brilliant production, I thought it was marvellous. In the sixties we had lots of parties and The Beatles music was always playing. I thought the chap playing John Lennon had a really good tone.”
13th January 2016