Cast: Stephen Fletcher, Chris Grahamson, Daniel Healy, Adam Keast, Maria Lawson, Paul Mannion, Jonathon Markwood, Andrew Schofield, Nicky Swift.

In 1981 the Everyman Theatre staged a show that at the time could have been considered evocative and pouring oil onto a very raw and passionate flames. The timing couldn’t have been worse, coming soon after the worst riots to hit parts of the city in generations and so soon after Liverpool lost one of its famous, iconic and much loved sons. Looking back with the benefit of thirty years since the death of John Lennon, the musical has become more of a celebration of the man’s life, rather than the wake it would have been in 1981.

To step into the biographical shoes of anybody can be daunting exercise for any actor but for Liverpool acting legend Andrew Schofield and for rising star Daniel Healy the task would have been a mammoth undertaking. However both actors nailed the essence of the man to such an extent that the lively and partisan crowd was overjoyed with their performances.

Daniel captured the young Lennon perfectly, his desires, his love for his absent mother and joy of playing music set him above anybody ever having taken on the role of the young musician.

Amongst the superb cast joining Daniel and Andrew were the wonderful Stephen Fletcher as his fellow Beatle Paul McCartney and Maria Lawson who played both John’s mother Julia and Yoko Ono.

The Musical itself dealt with the emotional and compelling life of John Lennon sensitively and with no holds barred with precision and extremely good taste, whilst dealing with John’s dark relationship with former manager Brian Epstein and John’s first wife Cynthia with empathy and refreshing frankness.

What would have driven a lot of the audience members in, would have been the chance to hear the sound that the Beatles created during their time as Britain’s number one band. Again this may, in lesser hands, have come across as nothing more than a tribute act but in the hands of this particular troupe, every song was lovingly recreated and had the audience joining in. From the opening bars of A Day in the Life through to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the magic that John, Paul, George and Ringo made was showcased, adored and played sublimely.

Top marks to the Royal Court for bringing back this timely celebration of a much loved and much missed man.

Ian D. Hall