The Beatles head to London's West End - plans 'under wraps for months'
The Beatles ' songs are heading to the West End after film supremos Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis decided to turn box office hit Yesterday into a musical.
The duo held an event this week in front of major investors, including Sir Cameron Mackintosh and Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, as they seek a theatre for the new show.
An insider revealed: 'This has been kept under wraps for months but it is a huge opportunity, and the prospect of a Beatles musical is too big to miss.
'It's easy to imagine that it could play for years and years.
'There was a performance this week to show the basics of what the production will be, and all the big players in London's theatre world came along. It's a no-brainer that any theatre will want to host it so there is likely to be a bit of a bidding war to secure it. These are the most famous songs of all time, so it could run and run.'
The musical will be a repurposed version of the 2019 film, written by Curtis and directed by Boyle. It starred Himesh Patel as a struggling musician who recovers from being hit by a bus, only to find he is the sole person who has ever heard of The Fab Four.
It will mean The Beatles' extraordinary back catalogue will be performed on stage, with tracks including The Long And Winding Road, All You Need Is Love and Hey Jude all included, following in the footsteps of hugely successful theatre productions about similarly timeless megastars including Queen and Michael Jackson.The film also featured Lily James.
Speaking previously, Curtis said they would not have been able to make the film without the rights to the Beatles' music.
He said: "I don't think so. It's been wonderful watching these 50 years of progress, and the way that their music has still lasted, and the way that when you go see school plays – you know, at the end of it, if it's about the environment, everyone will sing 'Here Comes the Sun' or 'Octopus's Garden' or something.
"My kid was in a school play about the Battle of Hastings, and at the end, William the Conqueror held Harold the King of England's hand, and they both sang 'We Can Work It Out'.
"I think The Beatles are more embedded in culture than anybody else – even though, personally, I couldn't bear a world without Kate Bush. But I don't think it's the same film."
On whether it was tough getting the rights to the songs and if he'd spoken to Paul McCartney or Ringo Starr, Richard explained: "No. We dealt a lot with Sony and with Apple.
"I think if they'd have said no, it would have been impossible. If we were doing a film about a serial killer who loves The Beatles, they might have said no, but it clearly is quite a pro-Beatles thing."
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