I walked in identifying myself as non-Beatles fan, yes I knew a lot of the songs and yes I would occasionally have sung along when a Beatles song came on the radio, but by the end of the show I was well and truly hooked!
Seen by over one million people worldwide, LET IT BE has established itself as one of the West End's most popular shows and continues to delight audiences across the globe, having recently performed to audiences in Germany, Japan, Moscow, and France as well as a critically acclaimed extended run in Liverpool, the home of The Beatles.
LET IT BE showcases the music of the world's most successful rock 'n' roll band, in a spectacular concert, charting the band's meteoric rise their humble beginnings in Liverpool's Cavern Club, through the height of Beatlemania, to their later studio masterpieces.
The show is packed with over forty of The Beatles' greatest hits - music that defined a generation, captured the hearts and ideals of millions, including TWIST AND SHOUT (with mandatory audience participation!), HELP!, SHE LOVES YOU, A HARD DAYS NIGHT, YELLOW SUBMARINE, as well as global mega-hits YESTERDAY, HEY JUDE, COME TOGETHER, and of course, LET IT BE.
The show opened with a modest set up, a replica underground pub scene representing the Cavern in Liverpool where the band started out. Two mock sixties television sets were hung above the stage which were used alongside the large digital screen at the back of the band, playing a variety of retro adverts, such as a Fairy liquid commercial, Diana Rigg in The Avengers etc, and then used with the large digital screen showing vintage clips of Beatlemania, to the psychedelic video images for, the Yellow Submarine/Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band years. I loved how, although not an actual musical as it was originally marketed as when LET IT BE first played at Leicester Squares' WEST END LIVE a few years ago, when it was introduced as a new "show" opening in the West End, I really wasn't blown away by what I saw or heard (despite me taking lots of photographs at the time!), the show took you through the history of The Beatles from their humble beginnings in the Liverpool pub, to a sell-out stadium in the States along with the realistic sounds of the screaming fans at the height of Beatlemania. 
At the start of the show, in the Liverpool pub, the four looked almost like quadruplets, all wearing the same suit with almost identical haircuts. As the show progressed and the sixties became in full swing, I loved how the audience saw the band transform into individual personalities each with their own unique style and dress sense. The show really made the audience feel like they had been taken back in time and experienced the rise of what became the most successful band of all time.
I could not see one empty seat in the theatre and I have never in my life experienced such a buzzing atmosphere at a show, especially one with such a versatile audience of such a mixed age range. The show is fab for all the family - or should that be fab FOUR all the family?! (See what I did there?) I also loved how the band even encouraged the audience to take photographs/videos (but without the flash). This is usually strictly prohibited at any theatre event.
LET IT BE plays at Sheffield Lyceum for one week only, ending its run on Saturday 27th February and tickets start from just £22.00 (or £5 if you are lucky enough to be aged between 16-26). Whether you are a Beatles fanatic or like myself, you've heard of and like a few songs but you want to experience this wonderful celebration of music, I urge you to book tickets now as availability is limited and after last night’s spectacular and groovy opening night, I can now see why this show is still a hit both in the West End and on tour. I may not have been around when The Beatle were formed but last night I truly felt as though I had been there in the sixties and watched these four ordinary guys from Liverpool transform into the biggest selling band of all time. The music of The Beatles is now permanently fixed in my heart and mind, and I am very likely to return to this fantastic journey through musical history once more; LET IT BE really is something I think everybody needs to go and experience at least once.
Further information and ticket information can be found on www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk or by calling the Box Office on 01142 496000. www.letitbelive.com
Reviewer: Lottie Davis-Browne
Reviewed: 22nd February 2016
