Let It Be at the Kings Theatre Glasgow Review
Let It Be
Kings Theatre, Glasgow
28 April to 3 May 2014
Reviewed by Stella Young
The Beatles are probably the most iconic band in the history of UK pop music. Over 5 decades after the band formed, I find myself sitting in a packed theatre ready to listen to their music, even though I was born after they split up. But their music has lived on and on.
We went to the King’s Theatre in Glasgow to see the show and we were seated in the Grand Circle, Row F, which gave us a brilliant view of the stage.
The tour cast features many members of the West End cast of the show. On the night we went, the cast consisted of
Ringo character – Ben Cullingworth
Paul character – James Fox
John character – Michael Gagliano
George character – Paul Mannion
Keyboard – Steve Geere
The show opens with a bang, with a backdrop depicting The Cavern Club in Liverpool where the band played in the early days, the band looking very smart in their signature black suits belting out “I Saw Her Standing There” followed by “Please Please Me”. I then realised this musical didn’t actually tell the story of the Beatles, but was purely based on a tribute to their music.
Track after track were belted out, note perfect. In particular James Fox aka Paul McCartney’s vocals were outstanding. The scenes were changed to portray their journey over the years. After The Cavern Club, the tour of America, beginning their tour with the Ed Sullivan show, before going on to perform to their biggest audience at New York City’s Shea Stadium. The toes were well and truly tapping and the audience in the theatre were on their feet dancing away and singing along to old favourites like “Can’t Buy Me Love”, “Ticket to Ride” and “Day Tripper” amongst others.
By near the end of the first act, we’d entered in to the psychedelic era of The Beatles, with trippy backdrops, perfect for Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. The start of the second act followed on from this with Magical Mystery Tour and Strawberry Fields Forever.
There were a few acoustic numbers, where the audience stopped dancing and clapping, and sat in silence listening to timely classics such as The Long and Winding Road, sang brilliantly by James Fox. But upbeat numbers such as Get Back and We can Work it Out had the whole theatre back on their feet.
When the band left the stage, of course the feet were stamping to demand an encore, and we were not disappointed, as the fab four returned to the stage treating us to renditions of Let it Be and Hey Jude, culminating in a standing ovation from theatre goers young and old.
I loved the music, but was slightly disappointed that the production had no storyline as such. For which reason I would give it 4 out of 5. However, if you were and still are a fan of The Beatles music, I would definitely recommend seeing this show.
Rating: 4/5
Tickets cost from £16.90 to £52.90 (plus £2.85 transaction fee).
For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 0844 871 7648.
King’s Theatre, 297 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4JN | 0844 871 7648
