Come Together 
Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool
★★★★★

IF there’s one thing Liverpool should twist and shout about, it’s the Beatles. In the 1960’s, the four lads who shook the world became part of people’s lives with Beatlemania prevalent in many households.

Now it’s back with us at Liverpool’s Royal Court Theatre. The writers of the show, Tom Connor and Mark Newnham, not only celebrate the music and lyrics created by Lennon and McCartney but perform them brilliantly on stage together with the amazing Mike Woodvine on guitar and Greg Joy drumming. Some Scousers were fortunate enough to see the Fab Four performing live, especially the school kids who during the day, regularly attended the Cavern Club. For those of us not so fortunate, this show is the next best thing.

Yet in reality, during the 1960s, there was a substantial proportion of the mainstream who considered Lennon and McCartney as simply rebellious young men who needed haircuts. Whilst McCartney’s lyrics were deeply personal and geared towards persuasion, Lennon became more socially and politically focused.

This was exemplified on stage with the two songs, Let It Be and Revolution. McCartney wrote Let It Be in honour of his mother, Mary, who died from cancer when he was only 14. Following a dream where Mary appeared, he put music to the words “When I find myself in times of trouble Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom: let it be.”

Lennon focused on Revolution and Power to the People. At the Royal Variety Performance, 1963, Lennon declared: “Those in the cheaper seats, clap. The rest of you rattle your jewellery.” Sixty-three years later at the Royal Court Theatre, we were invited to either clap or rattle our necklaces depending on where we were sitting. Every time John reappeared on stage he was both smiling and putting his two fingers up.

In 1969, when John married Yoko Ono, in both Amsterdam and Montreal they used their honeymoon to promote the Bed In For Peace, a form of public protest against the war in Vietnam and an opportunity to promote peace. Lennon’s song, Give Peace A Chance, was recorded during this time. “Everybody’s talking about rev-o-lu-tion, ev-o-lu-tion , mas-ti-ca-tion, fla-gel-la-tion, (etc) — All we are saying is give peace a chance.”

After the Beatles disbanded in 1970, John Lennon became a radical, spoke out for peace, women’s liberation, working-class solidarity, civil rights, a left-wing activist who described himself in a 1970 interview as “communist with a belief in a classless society and social justice.”

McCartney too had specific beliefs focused on the environment, animal rights, gay rights and later spoke out about Brexit calling it “probably a mistake.” In spite of agreement on many issues, Lennon and McCartney started to fall out, even interrupting each other on stage as they sang.

This show chronologically explores the Lennon and McCartney songbook, the often complex construction of their music, with classics like Help, Yesterday and Day Tripper, ending with Hey Jude where we in the audience were invited to both sing and rhythmically wave hands whilst holding smart phones.

If you enjoy brilliantly performed live music, this is the show for you. Beatles themes are still relevant today. Right now in the world we all need to Come Together and Give Peace a Chance. To quote John Lennon: “We’re going to send two acorns for peace to every world leader from John and Yoko. Perhaps if they plant them and watch them grow they may get the idea into their heads.”

Trump — if like us, you listened to Beatles music, act on it. Imagine. Come Together — an amazing evening of Beatles music, magical, not to be missed. Come together right now? Definitely yes.

Runs until March 28, then on tour. Box Office: 0151 709 4321, liverpoolsroyalcourt.com