Our Guest Blogger, Katie, has been to London’s glittering West End again with a theatre break from Door2Tour coach trips to see The Beatles inspired ‘Let It Be’. She had such a fabulous time that she wanted to share her experience with you all so here is her mini review of the show and if you’ve also been to see it, why not get in touch and tell us your favourite part too…
This new West End show, celebrating 50 years since the debut of ‘Love Me Do’ by The Beatles, opened just a few weeks ago for a short run at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London. This prestigious venue is the perfect choice as The Beatles played there at the Royal Variety Show in 1963 to the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret on that very stage.
Having booked our tickets way back in the August, we initially believed that ‘Let It Be’ was going to be the next ‘Mamma Mia’ or ‘Viva Forever’, however when the show first opened the reviews said otherwise. By the time it was my turn to go, I was well aware that ‘Let It Be’ was purely going to be a celebration of The Beatles greatest hits – a mini concert if you like!
The show starts in a replica of the Cavern Club in Liverpool setting the scene of where The Beatles began on their road to
stardom. They played songs such as ‘She Loves You’ and ‘A Hard Days Night’ which certainly had the audience singing along whilst I was there and no doubt when you see it, you’ll find it hard to resist rocking along.
The highlight of the first half of the show for me had to be the cover of ‘Twist and Shout’. It is undeniably my favourite song by The Beatles and everyone in the audience was up singing and dancing along too. The cast then complete a costume change into their beige jackets and the Shea Stadium part of the show begins with ‘Help!’ The video accompanying this set shows the genuine footage of the hysteria towards the band. I was shocked at the number of young girls who looked like they were just about to faint with excitement – I now understand the term Beatlesmania!
After the interval, the show continued with more song favourites such as ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’, ‘Hello Goodbye’, ‘All You Need Is Love’, ‘Blackbird’ and ‘Two Of Us’. The final Beatles concert was played on top of the Apple Corps Building in Saville Row London. This too is replicated near the end of the show when ‘Get Back’ was played.
The encore will again have every single member of the audience on their feet, the whole theatre joined in with the cover of ‘Let It Be’. The last song couldn’t be anything else other than ‘Hey Jude’ with the audience swaying and singing along to ‘Na na na na na Hey Jude’.
One thing that did surprise me was the age range of the audience, being
born 28 years after ‘Love Me Do’ was first released, I assumed I would be the youngest in the theatre. This was not the case and it was clear old and young alike were enjoying the show.
I could not fault the cast at all, they had clearly studied their characters closely and their mannerisms were spot on. This show is perfect for Beatles fans of all ages, and let’s face it, it’s the closest you’ll ever get to going to a Beatles concert again!
Would you agree with Katie’s review? Have you been to see ‘Let It Be’ also? If so, let us know your thoughts…