Written By: Mark Armstrong
Format: Play
Genre: Comedy Drama
Date: April 25 2018
Location: Epstein Theatre, Liverpool
The much-hyped Lennon’s Banjo production is finally playing at the Epstein Theatre in Liverpool. It’s a show which tells a basic story with some unexpected swerves, a big-name cameo and plenty of local references. It’s on the light side when it comes to laugh-out-loud moments, but is otherwise a strong show that holds one’s attention throughout.
The main plot is that Barry Seddon (Eric Potts), a tour guide for The Beatles bus and a die-hard Beatles fan to the point of harmless-yet-annoying obsession (to his friends, anyway), comes across a letter which John Lennon had written back in 1962, and makes reference to his long-lost banjo and its potential whereabouts. Captivated by the possibility of finding such a vital piece of Beatles memorabilia, as well as understanding the likely fortune he could make off selling the banjo, Barry speaks to his friends from the local Beatles Store, Joe and Steve (played by Mark Moraghan and Jake Abraham respectively), who themselves have aspirations of one day setting up a business in Tenerife, and they all eventually agree to try and track down this important piece of Beatles history.
In the meantime, we properly meet Travis (Danny O’Brien), a Texan native, and his wife Cheryl (Stephanie Dooley). They are the victims of an auctioneering scam which sees them paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for a seemingly-worthless painting, after deliberately false encouragement by a fellow Texan tycoon. To try and fix their financial woes, Travis – who isn’t the most honest man that you’ll ever meet – brings Cheryl to Liverpool, and after a chance visit to the Beatles Store, he gets wind of what Barry and co. are planning as it relates to Lennon’s banjo. Travis quickly puts two and two together, and his new mission is for him and Cheryl to find that banjo with Barry’s help, unbeknownst to him.
Indeed, Travis convinces Cheryl against her will to begin chatting up Barry and go on a few dates, with the intention of finding out further information about the banjo. This upsets the local landlady Brenda (Lynn Francis), who has romantic feelings for Barry, and is waiting for him to ask her out; therefore, the prospect of him dating Cheryl is a shock to the system. Mutual friend Sid (Alan Stocks) attempts to resolve this romantic cross-over with disastrous results, and it is only late in the show when this aspect reaches its climax. Meanwhile, the search for the banjo goes on, and includes a scene which stars Pete Best, the famous “fifth Beatle”, whose appearance is short but memorable and went down very well with the crowd.
Unsurprisingly, it becomes clear that the con is on from the Texan couple, partly because Travis now owes even more money to his associates based on the projected upcoming sale of the still-to-be-found banjo. Barry is disappointed when he realises that he has been used, and more so because it threatens his own attempts to track down Lennon’s most coveted instrument. But this leads to the first of several twists that take us up to the final scene, with every strand resolved in some fashion. As for whether Barry and friends find the banjo? You’ll have to see the show to find out.
As noted, the story is pretty easy to follow, and the ongoing mystery of the banjo (along with various hints that are dropped throughout via Barry’s thorough research) keeps people engaged; after all, you want to know where the banjo really is, and who – if anybody – will benefit from its discovery. Barry is an easily likable and relatable character, so we are motivated to support him, feel sympathy towards him, and generally want him to succeed. There are so many people like Barry, whether it be Beatles-related or not, and those are the true good guys who most deserve to find success. Barry is the highlight of the show and the thread that keeps the main plotline moving. The cast in general perform very well, though, and Danny O’Brien enters a strong performance as Travis, especially since the Texan accents and attitudes are such a contrast to those of the local characters. The scenery is well-designed if a little generic, and it’s easy to picture Barry and friends standing in the likes of their local pub and the Beatles Store.
The one major negative of the show, to me, was that for a comedy show that potentially had a ton of material to work with, there are very few scenes that are actually funny. The dialogue between Joe and Steve is perfect for this setting, and there are some comedic chases and awkward situations based on the ongoing search for the banjo. But too often, the tone either feels overly serious or simply not funny. For the most part, any scene involving Travis and Cheryl has no comedic element to it whatsoever, and that’s not a knock on the performers, because both do a fine job. But it’s hard to truly class this as a hilarious production when, in reality, only around a third of the scenes are written with the intention of making the crowd laugh, despite there being some deliberately humorous visuals (such as Jake Abraham, who plays several roles, turning up as a typical scruffy Scouse dealer when trying to create a mock banjo for Travis). I felt the audience were waiting to laugh, and it felt a bit strange when the show would go nearly ten minutes without even trying to generate chuckles.
That being said, Lennon’s Banjo is still a well-told story with some excellent performances, some surprises here and there, and it works very well in the home city of the world’s most famous band. So, you’ll definitely get a kick out of the show, and you’ll definitely enjoy the plot-line as a whole. If more jokes can be inserted into the script, particularly for the first half and the final scenes, then a really good production has the potential to be a great one.
Overall Rating: 8/10 – Very Good
