I normally review theatre on here, although a couple of gigs have made it onto the blog. I attended Let It Be expecting a jukebox style musical production telling the Beatles story but with plenty of classic hits thrown in for good measure. Surprisingly I was met with more of a tribute group presenting a two hour concert. Nonetheless the Let It Be experience was a very enjoyable one.
As a big Beatles fan I was in the right place, if you only feel lukewarm about their music then this is not for you. You will enjoy this the most if you know all the words to most of their songs and have followed boys solo careers.
Let It Be celebrates the fab four as they recreate shows at the Royal Variety and the Shea concert which brought such Beatlemania that it ended their live performances. Interspersed with clips of the madness that ensued around the band and nostalgic adverts, the two half show was split into different sets. Each set came with its own context and iconic costume and despite their being little dialogue and no story, you still gathered where the band were performing each time.
It wasn’t long before the audience were up on their feet twisting and shouting along to Twist and Shout. It took a while to get going but once they had warmed up the audience there was no stopping them. Singing the hits at the top of the lungs, boogying to the hits and swaying to the ballads.
I felt the first half was more of a crowd pleaser than the second half, with more of the Beatles hits and less of a focus on the boys solo careers. They played a lot of favourites but there are always going to be some missed out, you won’t be disappointed though.
Paul, Ringo, George and John were played with gusto and enthusiasm and of course incredible musical skill. John Brosnan who played George Harrison in particular showed his skill on a guitar during ‘Back in the USSR’. Emanuele Angleletti as Paul McCartney, Ben Cullingworth as Ringo Starr and Paul Mannion who was a spitting image of John Lennon were all also extremely musically competent. Their singing was less impressive but most of the time I was singing at the top of my lungs anyway so it didn’t bother me too much.
This guarantees a fun filled evening for any Beatles fan young or old. If you fancy singing your heart out to arguably the greatest band of all time, then this is the show for you.