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Freud confirms Beatles' songs to star in musical

Mariam Issimdar
News imageJeff Spicer/Getty Images Richard Curtis and Emma Freud at a premiere for the movie, Yesterday. Curtis has his arm around Freud and they are both smiling for the camera, in front of a yellow backdrop with the logo for "Yesterday" written on it in white. Curtis has white hair and is wearing a chequered blue shirt and a black jacket. Freud has long black hair and is wearing a black jacket.Jeff Spicer/Getty Images
Screenwriter Richard Curtis and his wife Emma Freud are looking to bring the movie Yesterday on to the theatre stage

Film producer Emma Freud has confirmed The Beatles have agreed for their songs to feature in a stage version of the movie, Yesterday.

Freud is working on the show with her husband, Richard Curtis. They were behind the 2019 film and other box office hits, including Love Actually and Bridget Jones's Diary.

She called it "a huge deal", saying: "They've [The Beatles] never done that with a West End musical before. So it's the first time that you can kind of legally see The Beatles' music on stage, which is amazing."

Freud spoke to BBC Radio Suffolk on Monday, after she received an honorary doctorate for her work in film and broadcasting at the University of Suffolk on Saturday.

News imageUniversity of Suffolk Emma Freud wears a red cap and a red, white and gold gown over a black jacket. She is smiling and stands in front of a window, next to a plinth with flowers. The view is of Ipswich Marina and the Waterside is filled with boats. University of Suffolk
Emma Freud received an honorary doctorate in Ipswich on Saturday

She said a theatre where the stage show will be performed had been chosen - "but I can't tell you what it is because I will get killed".

She confirmed the stage version of Yesterday would also be directed by Oscar-winner Danny Boyle, who oversaw the movie.

Freud said: "We're at workshop stages, so we've already had two workshops and we've got a third one coming up this month, where you sort of ask actors to come into a room and just interrogate the script and the songs and the staging, and see how it's going to work.

"Currently we're on the 11th draft of the script, because it isn't just taking a movie script and putting it on to a stage.

"It's the same story, but actually every beat of it becomes different, becomes theatrical rather than filmic.

"So it's been an incredible process to be a part of. I don't feel like I've ever done anything as big in my entire life."

News imageA black and white staged photograph of The Beatles, looking at the camera with a white background behind them. (Left to right) the members Paul McCartney, George Harrison, John Lennon and Ringo Star are all wearing matching suit jackets, shirts and ties.
The Beatles were one of the biggest bands on the planet, with a multitude of hits including Hey Jude, Let it Be and Yesterday

Yesterday is about a struggling musician who wakes up one day to find an altered world where no-one has heard of The Beatles.

He becomes famous after singing their songs and passing them off as his own.

The film stars Himesh Patel and Lily James, along with Suffolk-based singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran.

It was shot throughout Suffolk, Essex and Norfolk, including a scene with 6,000 extras in Gorleston-on-Sea.

News imageRichard Curtis stands against a whitewashed brick wall next to actor Himesh Patel. Naked lightbulbs on cables are hung on the wall behind them. Richard has a black top on and Himesh has dark hair and a beard, and is wearing a black jacket over a white T-shirt with a green pattern on it.
Richard Curtis with the lead actor in the film Yesterday, Himesh Patel

On receiving her doctorate from the University of Suffolk, Freud said "the honour" was "so massive", because "Suffolk is my home and it's where I was brought up, and it's where my family has lived for generations".

Her family arrived in the county as Jewish refugees from Germany in the 1930s, escaping the tyranny of the Nazis.

Freud's work has also involved tackling poverty and inequality, and has included working as a creative director and executive producer at Comic Relief.

News imageUniversity of Suffolk Emma Freud wears a red cap and a red, white and gold gown over a black jacket. She is smiling and stands next to her husband Richard, who wears a dark coloured jacket over a dark coloured jumper. They are both standing against a window and the scene behind is of Ipswich Marina, which is filled with boats.University of Suffolk
Emma Freud, who lives in Southwold with Richard Curtis, said receiving the accolade from the University of Suffolk was special

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