THE MAIN CHARACTERS-BRIAN EPSTEIN AND JOHN LENNON
John Lennon is portrayed by Jordan Barkley, Brian Epstein is portrayed by Joseph Winder, and the play is written by Alex King, (an award-winning writer and director of film and theatre)
THE SETTING
February 1964. The Beatles are on the cusp of changing the world. In a suite at New York’s Plaza Hotel, John Lennon and manager Brian Epstein find themselves alone for an evening that neither of them expects.
As conversation drifts between memory, ambition and identity, the boundaries between performance and reality begin to erode. John struggles to reconcile the man he is with the man the world demands he become, while Brian is forced to confront a lifetime spent hiding in plain sight. What begins as companionship gradually becomes a battle for understanding, exposing the fears, contradictions and vulnerabilities that lie beneath two carefully constructed lives.
Of All These Friends and Lovers is an intimate new two-hander that imagines a deeply human encounter between two men navigating fame, expectation and the search for authenticity, asking whether anyone can truly know themselves when the whole world believes it already does.
This is the world-premiere of the play!
The production runs at The Hope Street Theatre (a stone’s throw from LIPA) during International Beatle Week, 25th – 29th August, with times as follows:
25th – 7:30PM
26-28th – 1:00PM, 4:00PM, 7:30PM
29th – 11AM, 1:00PM, 4:00PM, 7:30PM.
Link: https://ticketquarter.co.uk/Online/article/tq-of-friends-and-lovers-2026
Please note that John Lennon’s college art school friend and classmate, Helen Anderson, has provided one of her famous caps that she designed for John for the play!
Link: https://ticketquarter.co.uk/Online/article/tq-of-friends-and-lovers-2026
My only regret is that I live in the US and I will miss seeing this play. However, anyone in the US that is scheduled to be at Beatle Week in August of 2026, this is the play for you to attend and see while you are in Liverpool!
We at the blog extend our best wishes to the writer and director, Alex King, and all of the cast members and production crew. We sincerely wish you the best for a great long run for which most certainly will be a fascinating play and character study!
Link: https://ticketquarter.co.uk/Online/article/tq-of-friends-and-lovers-2026
Be healthy and be happy!
Buzz
