It is an achievement on the part of playwright Tom Wright not to relegate music manager Brian Epstein to a footnote in the Beatles story. This Epstein is a strongly realised, complex character and a great role for Calam Lynch, who rises to the occasion. If the man’s identity as a queer Jew is pointed out a little clumsily, the piece has a lot to say. But Wright is almost too anxious to make the picture rounded. And, unfortunately for Epstein, he was surrounded by interesting people – bad for a biography but great for the audience and the actors.
The supporting cast is excellent. There’s Epstein’s dad and cousin – good roles for Arthur Wilson – and a great performance from Noah Ritter as a sexy John Lennon, while the excellent William Robinson works hard as Epstein’s best friend and two hustlers (one of whom gives the best stage punch I’ve seen for a long time). It is satisfying to note that in a play with a lot of men, the only woman gets the chance to shine. Eleanor Worthington-Cox plays Cynthia Lennon, Cilla Black, and Lennon’s formidable Aunt Mimi, and is fantastic with every wig change.
Yet the supporting characters are so strong that they too often overshadow Epstein. Despite Lynch’s fine performance, Epstein is not always the protagonist. That may be realistic enough, but it leaves the play feeling fitful. Amit Sharma’s stylish direction, aided by Jess Williams’s movement work and Tom Piper’s set design, gives the production flair. We see Epstein jostled around the stage, pushed and pulled by others while dodging the furniture. It’s a neat idea, but there remains a sense of the play being uneven rather than unsettling.
The invented scenes between Epstein and Lennon are arresting but might come too close to fan fiction for some. And Epstein’s ‘fall’, precipitated by drugs and self-loathing, seems a little too sudden. Epstein’s poetic touches are his – and Wright’s – finest moments. When waxing eloquent, the piece is transformed and elevated. Back on earth, there are problems. Maybe there isn’t enough effort to date the characters or provide a timeline for the less informed. The decriminalisation of homosexuality could be clearer, as we cover a decade so quickly that I fear confusion. Wright knows his stuff and he uses the material inventively, but there isn’t enough background to help those who are new to the story, or enough insight to please those who already know it.
Until 29 May 2026
Photo by Mark Senior