Manawatū Theatre Society’s production of ‘Lennon’s Banjo’ hits sound notes

Brenda (Shar Carson) and Barry (Phil White) have great chemistry in their roles as a barmaid and a Beatles tour guide.

Lennon’s Banjo

Manawatū Theatre Society

Written by Rob Fennah

Directed by Steve Jenkins

Playing at the Globe Theatre until August 26

Reviewed by Judith Lacy

Did John Lennon ever have this problem? The words won’t flow, and even Googling related topics fails to help.

Obviously, one-quarter of the Fab Four didn’t have an online search engine to help him. But a banjo given to him by his mother, Julia, was the first instrument he learned to play.

Lennon’s Banjo is about the search for the “holy grail of pop memorabilia”.

Last Thursday’s performance was the Southern Hemisphere premiere of the play, which had its world premiere in Liverpool in 2018.

Director Steve Jenkins is a big Beatles fan and provided most of the Beatles memorabilia in the show - posters, books, records, mugs and hats.

He is well-served by his cast of 12, as they come on and off stage on cue and there’s never a lull in the proceedings.

The play has a huge number of scene changes, and the set is brilliantly constructed and lit to make these easier to follow.

Some of the characters are Texan, and not all the actors pull off the accent. It’s great to go for authenticity, but not at the expense of being understood by the audience.

The Texan wheeling and dealing was a mystery to me, and I don’t know what playwright Rob Fennah was trying to achieve there other than a drawn-out plot device.

Some of the 12-strong cast of characters in 'Lennon's Banjo' are Texan boys Carl (Dave Chisholm), Travis (Michael Rewiri-Thorsen) and Devito (Glenn Maskill), with Cheryl (Michelle Thompson), the auctioneer (Vicky Richter) and Wayne (Ben Carter) in the background.

The cast contains well-known regional theatre names such as Mark Kilsby, Dave Chisholm and Hayden Giles.

It’s pleasing to see Michelle Thompson in a meatier role (an English woman playing a Texan no less) and the chemistry between Phil White and Shar Carson was spot on. Carson lights up any stage.

Leith Marshall’s cameo as Pete Best, the Beatles’ original drummer, was a highlight.

This is no musical, but there is plenty of Beatles trivia for fans.

It needs more laughs, but then maybe I’m too young (I don’t get to write that phrase much these days) or not a big enough Beatles fan to get the jokes.

The Times reviewer said the feeble comedy is an excuse to wallow in Beatles nostalgia. That’s a bit harsh. The play certainly kept me thinking throughout and had me Googling various Beatles-related matters afterwards to extend my knowledge.

It’s fantastic the Manawatū Theatre Society has returned so strongly after the lockdown lull. And good on it for trying something new.

President Charles Forbes says there was an excellent response to auditions and the society’s membership has grown significantly in the past year.

The society has produced a professional programme to complement the play, and I look forward to its November production, Clue.