I love this job so much, I’d do it eight days a week if I could
As Let It Be comes to Dublin, its star John Brosnan says...
FOR many Irish people, the Beatles provided the soundtrack to seminal parts of their lives. Whether it is a break up or an engagement, there is a Fab Four number that can help you through or even just, well, let it be.
If that sounds right to you, then a new musical spectacular that charts the musical history of the Beatles should be right up your Penny Lane.
Let It Be is a celebration of the phenomenal music of The Beatles and has already been seen by more than two million people worldwide, including an acclaimed run in the West End and two British tours.
The show features many of the group’s best loved songs including A Hard Day’s Night, Day Tripper, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Twist And Shout, I Want To Hold Your Hand and Strawberry Fields Forever. Next month the touring bonanza will land at Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre and wouldn’t you know it, an Irishman has ended up in the cast.
John Brosnan plays George Harrison in the show but says he is more Irish than English when the side burns and moustache are off. His dad is from Anascaul, Co Kerry, and mum is from Clonmel, Co Tipperary.
John was born in Australia and grew up there, but never felt any affinity Down Under. He moved to Ireland in 1990 and lived in Kerry before shipping over to London. His daughter is currently studying in Trinity and he has a lot of family still in Ireland, so he spends a lot of time here when not travelling with work.
‘We are on tour at the moment and we started in Cardiff two weeks ago and are in Liverpool next week and that is going to be an intimidating show,’ he says. ‘Bringing the Beatles to Liverpool is like bringing coals to Newcastle.
‘But we will do our best and then it is on to Dublin which I am really looking forward to.
‘I am from good Irish stock. My dad is from Kerry and I have cousins there and I am still in touch with them. Then my mother’s family are all from Clonmel in Tipperary. I didn’t really spend much time there because my parents emigrated to Australia and I actually grew up there.
‘I spent some time in Kerry in the west of Ireland a few years ago for a few months but I ended up moving to London — I followed the work.’
The work took John to Washington in the US where his technical proficiency in guitar saw him play with some of the world’s top symphony orchestras. But his love for the Beatles eventually landed him his dream job — and he hasn’t looked back since.
‘I had been working on a touring show where I was playing guitar with a symphony orchestra show,’ he says. ‘The owners then asked me to try out for the Beatles show so I auditioned for the management and when they brought it to the West End they called me and asked me to be in it.
‘In 2012 they went around the whole country putting together a cast and they picked me and I have been there ever since.
‘It was a strange journey but a good one. I was working in original bands before that with a touch of chart success.
‘This show is very much a music gig rather than an acting gig. I have worked with loads of symphony orchestras around the world and the job was based on your skills as a musician rather than as a performer.’
The show charts the group’s early beginnings at the world famous Cavern Club through to the height of Beatlemania. Part II is all-new, giving audiences the rare opportunity to see The Beatles reunite for one night only, a decade after the group went their separate ways, to cover some of more their celebrated solo tracks.
BUT this is not an examination of the band’s private struggles. And John says that this is not just another tribute act. ‘It is a tough act because they music is so familiar to everyone and they know what they sound like and look like and they know the lyrics backwards,’ he admits. ‘It is daunting, but the most enjoyable part of the show is seeing the audience’s reaction. ‘You get parents telling their kids that this is their childhood on stage and this is what mattered. ‘You see older people crying too. It’s moving and important and amazing. ‘Our production values are high and yes it is a tribute act — but the production is through the roof. It should be a more interesting watch and it is more of a journey through their career rather than just playing some hits. ‘We don’t go into the relationships and it is more a musical journey. ‘It is very difficult to actually go into the story of them unfortunately. It is a no go area legally. Nobody has been able to tell the story of the four of them because they don’t all agree on history. ‘Whose story would you tell? I don’t know. So we focus on the positive musical journey rather than the break-ups and the fighting.’ LET It Be at the Gaiety Theatre from September 17 to 22. Tickets €21. See gaietytheatre.ie