At the age of 30, Brian Epstein, the legendary manager of the Beatles, published his autobiography. By 32, he was dead, and his passing is widely regarded as the beginning of the end for the band. Tom Wright's fascinating new play, Please Please Me, shifts the focus from Epstein's impact on the Fab Four to their profound effect on him. In particular, it examines the relationship with John Lennon that would come to define the life of a Jewish gay man who, despite his immense success, always felt like an outsider.
The Opening Scene
We first meet Brian as a young man in his father's record shop, swapping Bruch's violin concerto for Elvis's Hound Dog. His father is happy to encourage his instincts in the baffling new world of 1960s pop—"Which Richard is the little one?" he is forced to ask—but as the play's breakneck opening makes clear, his son's homosexuality is a source of shame and danger. Tom Piper's mobile set of spinning closets (the shop also sells furniture) tumbles him down menacing corridors and alleyways; a shadowy Cavern Club reinforces the sense of a life concealed and buried.
The Relationship with Lennon
Smitten with what he sees at the Cavern Club, Brian offers the band his services with a combination of naivety, integrity, and business acumen. However, even as his plans for them prosper, he finds himself losing his identity in the orbit of Lennon's volatile genius. The question of what happened between the two during a holiday in Torremolinos, just as the Beatles were about to break big, has long been a subject of speculation. At the time, Lennon angrily denied rumours of an affair, even beating up a friend who teased him about it, but later seemed to confirm it.
The Production
In Amit Sharma's production, the Torremolinos episode becomes a pivotal scene whose outcome hurtles Brian into increasing desperation and drug dependence. Calam Lynch delivers a terrific, increasingly physical performance in the central role, while Eleanor Worthington-Cox brings distinction to a variety of roles, including John's daunting Aunt Mimi, his wife Cynthia, and Brian's client and confidante Cilla Black. As for John, it is no easy task to portray a man more popular than Jesus, but Noah Ritter combines chaotic charisma with hints of cruelty in a fine stage debut.
Themes and Conclusion
As Beatlemania grips the globe, John bemoans how the band are "trapped by the very thing that set us free." Epstein's tragedy is that he may have never found freedom at all. The play offers a poignant exploration of identity, fame, and the cost of success. Please Please Me runs at the Kiln Theatre in London until 29 May.
