Let It Be: Darlington Civic Theatre

IT was 20 years ago today... well, more like 50 years to be honest, since The Beatles signed for EMI having been turned down by the A&R man at Decca, whose career took a dive soon afterwards.

Here at the Civic the faithful assemble, trying and failing to sing along; in the past it was pot-induced amnesia but now it’s short-term memory loss as we’ve all aged a bit since then. But the music hasn’t, and this talented company does the Fab Four proud, just similar enough so you know which is which, without trying to “do” the individual band members.

Be warned, there are lots of strobes and strong lights beamed out into the audience from the stage, and the music is satisfyingly loud, enough to make my ears ring when I got home. The performance is concert-style, with back projection and sound effects to explain where and what we’re at; particularly effective is the set representing the gig at New York’s Shea Stadium in the summer of 1965, when an astonishing 56,000 screaming fans completely drowned out anything that was happening on stage.

Having conquered the US, the Beatles turned more to recording and moved into film, with their music becoming more introverted and mystic; Sgt Pepper was a turning point for them and for me, as I lost interest in their spiritual and psychedelic meanderings.

The whole spectrum of Beatles music is covered, about 40 songs in all, and there are plenty of opportunities to sing along for those who can remember the words.

* Runs until Saturday (May 14). Box Office: 01325-486555 or darlingtoncivic.co.uk

Sue Heath