Backbeat may be the story of how The Beatles 'became' The Beatles - when John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Pete Best and Stuart Sutcliffe embarked on their journey from the popular docks of Liverpool to search for good results inside the seedy red light district of Hamburg, working eight days a week, within the clubs of the tawdry Reeperbahn, performing rock 'n' roll covers night after night.
The compelling triangular relationship among the band's original bassist Stuart Sutcliffe, the striking German photographer Astrid Kirchherr whom he fell in love with, and his ideal friend John Lennon, became an intrinsic part of the Beatles' story - and put them on an unstoppable trajectory onto the globe stage.
Stuart's struggle among his very best friend along with the band, Astrid and his art, makes Stuart the troubled focus of Backbeat. His death, aged only 22, inside the very same year that the Beatles appointed Brian Epstein as manager, signed to Parlophone Records by Sir George Martin, and released their very first single 'Love Me Do', adds to the poignancy of this remarkable and vivid portrait of the early 1960's.
Backbeat attributes the all-time rock 'n' roll classics that the Beatles cut their teeth with - 'Twist and Shout', 'Rock 'N' Roll Music', 'Long Tall Sally', 'Please Mr Postman' and 'Money' - live on stage as performed by 'the Beatles'. Co-written by Iain Softley and Stephen Jeffreys, with musical direction by Paul Stacey, and directed by the award-winning David Leveaux.
The Duke of York's theatre opened on 10th September, 1892 with Wedding Eve. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife Violet Melnotte. It was very first named Trafalgar Square Theatre, then shortened to Trafalgar Theatre, along with the following year became The Duke of York's Theatre to honour the future King George V.
In 1900, Jerome K Jerome's Miss Hobbs was staged also as David Belasco's Madame Butterfly, which was observed by Puccini, who later turned it into the well-known opera. Inside the late 1970s the freehold of the theatre was bought by Capital Radio and it closed in 1979 for refurbishment. It reopened in February 1980 and the very first production below the patronage of Capital Radio was Rose, starring Glenda Jackson.
The Ambassador Theatre Group bought the theatre in 1992 and this coincided with London's hottest show, The Royal Court's production of Ariel Dorfman's Death and the Maiden. A host of successes followed which includes Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show - celebrating its 21st Birthday and also the hugely successful Royal Court Classics Season in 1995.
The Duke of York's has played host to the Royal Court as well as the highly acclaimed co-production of The Weir, which ran for over 2 years and won the 1999 Olivier Award for Best New Play. It has also had a sell-out run of Stones In His Pockets, winner of the 2001 Olivier awards for Best Comedy and Best Comedy Actor.
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