Everyone knows the story of The Beatles, or at least parts of it, and while their manager, Brian Epstein, is quite well known in general, few of us would be able to say where he comes from, let alone have much of a clue about his life. However, with the upcoming production of the Epstein: The Man Who Made The Beatles play, the short burst of brilliance that helped to set the band on its path to international stardom has found a voice once again as it makes its way to the Leicester Square Theatre later this summer.
The show is a direct transfer from its previous hit production in Liverpool, making it the first run on the West End, bringing with it the live music and multimedia aspects of the previous production. With the success of previous Beatles plays in London, including Back Beat and Let It Be, along with the solid reviews the play received for its previous performances, Epstein should go on to be one of the year’s must see plays.
Dates and tickets:
Set to open at the Leicester Square Theatre on the 30th July 2014 (brilliantly, following up An Audience With “Rowdy” Roddy Piper on the 26th July 2014), the production is scheduled to run through until the 6th September 2014. The play will be showing Monday to Saturday with shows at 7:30pm for evening performances, 3pm for Thursday afternoon matinees and 4pm for Saturday matinees.
Ticket prices seem to vary depending on what day and time the performance takes place, but in general they range from £30 to £42.50. Thursday matinees are the cheapest option at £30 and Saturday night sees it dial up to the most expensive of the price brackets.
Story:
Retelling the short, but momentous life of Brian Epstein, the music entrepreneur that not only discovered The Beatles at a lunchtime gig at The Tavern, but played an instrumental part in bringing their sound to the world as their manager, the play will undoubtedly have its lows, as well as its highs. Despite the fact that he was himself a household name during the 60s because of his status and influence over the band, little was known about his personal life.
The play brings this all to light, taking in his sexuality, drug dependency and eventual accidental overdose on a combination of sleeping tablets and alcohol in 1967 at the age of just 32. It re-imagines his final days whilst looking back upon his career and rise to fame from his drama school youth to his career at the epicentre of the world’s biggest pop group.
Cast:
Brian Epstein is once again being played by Andrew Lancel, who you might recognise from stints in Coronation Street and The Bill, but try not to hold that against him too much. Newcomer Will Finlason plays the role of ‘This Boy’, the imagined embodiment of 60s Liverpool.
Production:
Epstein: The Man Who Made The Beatles is directed by Jen Heyes and was written by Andrew Sherlock. The show was created by Bill Elms & Jen Heyes Productions Ltd as a part of Liverpool’s official 50th Anniversary of The Beatles, but thanks to its success in Merseyside it will be transferring to to the Leicester Square Theatre throughout the summer.
