Naomi Price returns for a magical mystery tour of her acclaimed tribute to the Fab Four, 'Lady Beatle'; a show which explores the hidden origins of some of pop's most famous compositions, while simultaneously recognising that the best songs are those that seem to be written with just us in mind.
When 'Lady Beatle' premiered in Brisbane in 2017, it was leading Australian theatre and cabaret performer Naomi Price’s third tribute show co-written with Adam Brunes, following on from the award-winning 'Rumour Has It' and 'Wrecking Ball', based on Adele and Miley Cyrus respectively. Like Lennon and McCartney, the Price-Brunes writing team has a knack for writing hits. Naomi explains the artistic philosophy behind her success.
“[Adam and I] try to make shows that we would like to watch and that we would like to go see.
“I do think that great work is like great sex; you have to think about the other person and that’s what makes it better.”
“I think Adam and I are great lovers, we put the audience at the forefront of our minds and want to give them the best possible experience.”
Over half a century since the end of Beatlemania, audiences still can’t get enough of the mop tops because their influence pervades the very fabric of our culture, as Naomi explains.
Image © Dylan Evans
“Everybody has a Beatles story and a Beatles anecdote, and I think that’s what’s made the show so popular and resonate is because we all have a favourite Beatles song, we all have a Beatles story, and we’re all bringing that into theatre to watch a show about The Beatles. I think everyone connects to it in completely different ways, which makes it so magic.”
Audiences, then, when they enter the theatre to witness 'Lady Beatle', will likely come with pre-conceived notions about what the songs they are about to hear mean and how they should sound. For Naomi, this is not a danger or a risk, but a benefit.
“When you do something different with [Beatles songs], that can be truly appreciated by the audience because they are so familiar with the originals.”
“Sometimes you don’t even need to perform the whole song, because you can just hear a snatch of a phrase or an iconic bass riff and that is enough to evoke exactly what you are getting at in that moment.”
The most obvious departure from the original Beatles recordings, though, is that a woman will be singing the vocals, which again opens up artistic opportunities, Naomi says.
Image © Dylan Evans
“Lennon and McCartney were writing predominately for a female audience and their fan base was predominately female – at least their extreme fans were – so what’s been really interesting with 'Lady Beatle' has been singing songs written by men for women and what happens when you invert that and put those songs into the body of a female and how does that change your experience or entry point into that song as an audience member.”
While the 'White Album' track 'Sexy Sadie' was not about a girl named Sadie at all, but rather the fallen spiritual guru, the Maharishi, many Beatles songs were written about real women, ranging from the famous, such as Mia Farrow’s sister Prudence in ‘Dear Prudence’, to the lonely and unknown, like Eleanor Rigby, who was buried in the church yard where John and Paul met.
Naomi and Adam have worked with dramaturg Daniel Evans to ensure that stories such as these weave seamlessly between 35 Beatles songs, before culminating in a way that you won’t quite expect, Naomi assures.
“We always want to provoke, to give you something that you are expecting and something that you’re not expecting and to give you something to talk about.”
