Backbeat Tickets

In 2011 audiences will have an opportunity to revisit a story that was originally told on cinema screens in 1994 as the movie “Backbeat” is adapted to the stage. The show has been put together by the movie’s original director Iain Softley, who teamed up with Stephen Jeffreys and originally brought it to the stage of the Citizen’s Theatre in Glasgow.

This time around it is the turn of those at the Duke of York’s Theatre to witness the action first hand as those with theatre tickets experience a story that deals with happenings in the early days of The Beatles. David Leveaux, well known for various shows around the capital, is set to direct.

Levaeux has been behind a wealth of shows that have appeared in the West End, at the National Theatre, at the Donmar Warehouse and for the Royal Shakespeare Company, in addition to numerous productions on Broadway. His credits include “The Real Thing” at the Donmar Waerhouse and Albery Theatre (now the Noel Coward Theatre) in 1999/2000, “Nine” at the Donmar Warehouse in 2003 and Broadway shows like “Anna Christie”, “The Glass Menagerie” and “Cyrano de Bergerac” in the last decade, making him an experienced helmer and someone who will undoubtedly serve “Backbeat” well.

With “Backbeat” he will be tackling a story that deals with circumstances in the early days of The Beatles. In particular, the focus is on the relationship between three people – John Lennon, original Beatles bassist Stuart Sutcliffe and the latter’s girlfriend Astrid Kirchher – and along the way various songs will amplify the proceedings, including rock ‘n’ roll classics like “Long Tall Sally” and “Twist and Shout”.

The story was pieced together in the late 1980s with Softley carried out interviews with Kirchher and Klaus Voorman. The movie was then released in 1994 and marked the beginning of a long career for the director, who would go on to direct “Hackers”, “K-Pax” and “Inkheart”, among others.

And now “Backbeat” arrives in the West End where it will stand up alongside the likes of “We Will Rock You” and “Million Dollar Quartet” as a stand-out jukebox musical.

“Backbeat” begins its run at the Duke of York’s Theatre on Monday 10th October 2011 (with previews beginning in September 2011) and continues to Saturday 24th March 2012.