The play takes place in the street in front of the Manhattan apartment house where John Lennon was shot to death. Deeply moved and shocked by this awful event, many New Yorkers spontaneously assembled there to pay tribute to their slain idol, and it is from the interwoven stories of a cross section of these people that the play is written. We're transported back to that December 1980 day of mourning when the songs of an era took on sad, new ironies, and when no one could think of the right words to express an inexplicable loss.
The Beatles are possibly the most influential band of the 20th Century. Today their music still has the power and passion it had when first released, and while it would seemingly appeal to the generation before us, The Day They Shot John Lennon is as meaningful to this generation as to those of the last.
Through the interaction of the characters, sometimes humorous, sometimes moving, sometimes menacing, the author points up the larger significance of the event which has brought them together – the shock wave which was felt across the nation by this further evidence of the violence and ugliness in our communal soul.
Nathan McCartney, who has directed and produced a string of plays, including A Dolls House, directs this play. Nathan commented, "The play is about peoples perceptions and individual personal reflections; as well as their own reactions to death and also celebrities in general, and it certainly will appeal to all Beatles fans"
The Day They Shot John Lennon will be visiting The Waterside Theatre on Friday 5th and Saturday 6th February. Ticket price is set at £7 and £5 concessionary are available online www.watersidetheatre.com or from the Theatre Box Office on (028) 7131 4000