An absolute must for all Beatles fans. (Review by Keith
Millar)
Showtime Australia are the masters of authentic tribute
shows of iconic music luminaries, such as Queen, Whitney Houston, Tina Turner
and of course the greatest of all, The Beatles, who are featured in Beatlemania On Tour which is currently
enjoying a run at the iZulu Theatre at the Sibaya Casino and Entertainment
Kingdom.
Last seen in Durban in 2010, the show has been tweaked with
a brand-new cast and state-of-the-art updates to production and lighting, and
revamps to the repertoire and costumes.
The marvellous hit tunes are all played in their original
key and on replicas of the instruments used by The Beatles creating a sound
which is as accurate and faithful to the original as possible.
Unfortunately, none of the cast of Cameron Charters (as Paul
McCartney), Zac Coombs (as John Lennon), Brent McMullen (as George Harrison)
and Ben Harper (as Ringo), bear much physical resemblance to the Beatle they
are representing. They do, however, do their best to translate the characteristics,
gestures and Liverpudlian accents of the Fab Four.
Most importantly, they are all accomplished musicians who
perform with skill, gusto and flamboyance, and deliver a pretty good
impersonation of the original.
Bass player Cameron Charters even went as far as teaching
himself to play his instrument left-handed for his role as Paul McCartney.
The Beatles, of course, have a massive repertoire and in a
show with over two hours of music there is plethora of wonderful and foot-stomping music. I did, however, miss a few of the gentler greats such as Yesterday and Norwegian Wood.
The show is divided into different periods of the Beatles
career. Starting with their appearances at the Star Club in Hamburg and The
Cavern in Liverpool, through to their growing international popularity and tours
to America (including appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show and the famous Shea
Stadium Concert in New York), and of course their fabulous psychedelic era.
Each segment features music of that era and is enriched by
video and slide presentations on a big screen at the back of the stage – and also
by the authentic costumes worn by the cast.
Two problems. The iZulu Theatre is a huge cavernous space.
It is not conducive to an intimate type of presentation and, try as they may,
the cast could not get their audience, which was mostly aged, to behave as the screaming
fans the Beatles were accustomed to. To compensate for this at one stage, a
backtrack of screaming teenage girls was mixed in at a volume that made it
difficult to enjoy the music.
Secondly, there were a few audio problems in the second half
and this may be the reason why the volume of the sound was pushed up to pain
level. As an ex-sound engineer, I appreciate and am impressed by high volumes,
but this was a step too far.
Beatlemania On Tour
is an absolute must for all Beatles fans. Since that probably includes everyone
maybe you should all go to this well-produced, enjoyable show.
The show runs at the iZulu Theatre at the Sibaya Casino and
Entertainment Kingdom until April 8 at 20h00 each night. Tickets R220 available
from Computicket on 0861915800 or online at computicket.com – Keith Millar
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