Beatlemania has well and truly got back to where it once belonged as the producers of smash hit musical LET IT BE announce a new national tour for 2016.
Audiences across the country will be Twisting and Shouting until their heart’s content when the show embarks on a national tour visiting 21 theatres across England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
This will be LET IT BE’s biggest tour to date, and it is expected that audiences will Come Together with a little help from their friends to dance in the aisles and celebrate music history’s greatest ever worldwide phenomenon.
The confirmed tour opens at the Cliffs Pavilion in Southend on 11 January 2016, and continues throughout the Spring and Summer months before it concludes on 25 June at the New Theatre in Oxford.
The mega tour will take in Southend; Southampton; Bromley; Bath; Torquay; Truro; Sheffield; Manchester; New Wimbledon; Dublin; Woking; Blackpool; York; Swansea; Edinburgh; Birmingham; Aylesbury; Darlington; Canterbury; Bristol and Oxford. With more dates to be announced.
The show has already wowed London’s West End and New York’s Broadway audiences. It is currently half-way through a five-week run in the birthplace of the biggest band in the world, Liverpool, where it is enjoying 5-star rave reviews and sell-out performances at Royal Court Theatre Liverpool.
LET IT BE celebrates the music of the world’s most successful rock ‘n’ roll band in a spectacular concert charting the band’s meteoric rise from their humble beginnings in Liverpool’s Cavern Club, through the height of Beatlemania, to their later studio masterpieces. They were just four boys from Liverpool who went on to change the world.
The show entertains Liverpool audiences until Saturday 14 November. It opened earlier this month to coincide with what would have been John Lennon’s 75th Birthday. LET IT BE has broken box office records at Royal Court Theatre Liverpool as the venue’s fastest selling show, passing the 10,000 ticket milestone. Extra shows have also been added to the run to meet demand.
The tour announcement comes in the same week as ITV announce a new prime-time two-hour Beatles documentary. The Nation’s Favourite Beatles Number One will be aired on ITV at 8.00pm on Wednesday 11 November. It will feature all 27 Beatles songs which reached the top of the charts here and in the States – including Let It Be. The programme will highlight the stories behind the songs and will feature Beatles’ insiders and celebrity fans, including Michael Palin, David Tennant, Twiggy, Jake Bugg, and Liverpool actress Sue Johnston, who was a Cavern Club regular herself.
LET IT BE will take to the road thanks to Annerin Productions and Flying Entertainment.
Producer Jeff Parry from Annerin Productions commented: “It’s more than 50 years since The Beatles released their first single, yet the band still continue to win new generations of fans – and I cannot ever see that ever changing. Every song still feels as fresh and vibrant today, which speaks volumes about their music and talent.
“The people of Liverpool have absolutely taken LET IT BE into their hearts. It is The Beatles’ concert that Liverpool never got – but now cannot live without. And now we’re incredibly proud to announce the show’s biggest tour to date. We are extremely excited to take the show back on the road and entertain Beatles’ fans across the country.
“As a young child living in Canada, my life changed when I received my first Beatles’ single. It began a lifelong fascination and admiration for the band. I feel extremely privileged that LET IT BE is helping to keep the story of the band alive. Money can’t buy you love, but it can buy you tickets to the hottest show on tour.”
LET IT BE is packed with over 40 of The Beatles’ greatest hits including Twist and Shout, She Loves You and Drive My Car, as well as global mega hits Yesterday, Hey Jude,Come Together and, of course, Let It Be. Travel back to the Swinging Sixties when all you needed was love, and a little help from your friends!
Seen by over 1 million people worldwide, LET IT BE continues to delight audiences across the globe, having recently performed to audiences in Germany, Japan, Moscow, and France.
LET IT BE has established itself as one of the West End’s most popular shows since originally opening at the Prince of Wales Theatre in September 2012, where it recouped its initial investment after just 18 weeks before transferring for a year-long run at the Savoy Theatre from January 2013 through to February 2014. Before moving to Royal Court Theatre Liverpool, the show completed an 8-month run at the Garrick Theatre in London’s West End.
More information can be found on www.LetItBeLive.com
FULL TOUR LISTING
SOUTHEND
Cliffs Pavilion
11 January – 16 January 2016
SOUTHAMPTON
Mayflower
18 January – 23 January 2016
BROMLEY
Churchill Theatre
25 January – 30 January 2016
BATH
Theatre Royal
1 February – 6 February 2016
TORQUAY
Princess Theatre
8 February – 13 February 2016
TRURO
Hall for Cornwall
15 February – 20 February 2016
SHEFFIELD
Lyceum Theatre
22 February – 27 February 2016
MANCHESTER
Opera House
29 February – 5 March 2016
WIMBLEDON
New Theatre
7 March – 12 March 2016
www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-wimbledon-theatre
DUBLIN
Board Gais Energy Theatre
14 March – 19 March 2016
WOKING
New Victoria Theatre
21 March – 26 March 2016
www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-victoria-theatre
BLACKPOOL
Grand Theatre
28 March – 2 April 2016
YORK
Grand Opera House
4 April – 9 April 2016
SWANSEA
Grand Theatre
11 April – 16 April 2016
www.swansea.gov.uk/swanseagrandtheatre
EDINBURGH
Playhouse Theatre
18 April – 23 April 2016
www.atgtickets.com/venues/edinburgh-playhouse
BIRMINGHAM
Hippodrome
25 April – 30 April 2016
AYLESBURY
Waterside Theatre
2 May – 7 May 2016
www.atgtickets.com/venues/aylesbury-waterside-theatre
DARLINGTON
Civic Theatre
9 May – 14 May 2016
CANTERBURY
Marlowe Theatre
6 June – 11 June 2016
BRISTOL
Hippodrome
13 June – 18 June 2016
OXFORD
New Theatre
20 June – 25 June 2016
www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-theatre-oxford