Blood Brothers

Synopsis

Musical melodrama set in Liverpool about twins separated at birth and the effects on their personalities as they grow up of 'nature' and 'nurture'. A poor family, already with kids, is blessed with twins, but they can't cope. The mother cleans at a `posh' house where they are desparate to have kids but can't and a deal is struck which no-one must know about. Despite the efforts of the new family the boys paths cross time and time again as they grow and one becomes `bad' while the other is 'good'. Eventually they clash with tragic consequences. The musical is un-usual in having a "narrator" who helps to move the plot along.

Our Review:

14 October 2009

Musical theatre is often praised for providing Utopian spectacles that have the power to divert, entertain and spellbind. Lavish sets, extravagant lighting rigs and awe-inspiring costumes all contribute towards the success of most mainstream musicals. Yet, take Willy Russell’s renowned work, Blood Brothers, strip it of any of the above factors and you are still guaranteed something beyond amazing.

In one of the greatest nature vs nurture storylines of all time, you watch as two twins are separated at birth, meeting coincidentally as young children and growing up together unaware of each other’s true identity. After a series of unfortunate encounters and superstitions, the boys are ultimately led to a tragic and untimely fate.

Simon Williams as Eddie Lyons and Sean Jones as Mickey Johnstone captivate you from beginning to end, as they portray perfectly the outcome of children raised on either end of the social spectrum. Independently they ...

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Latest User Review

David Baxter - 2 June 2010:

Seen in Southend. Perhaps because it has been running in London and on tour for so long it seems easy to take Blood Brothers for granted. Seeing it again though it is great to be reminded of how good a show it still is - a terrific story, marvellous songs and "that" ending gets you every time. Robbie Scorcer is a bit undrepowered as the narrator and Lyn Paul is now a rather senior Mrs. Johnstone, but she sings the role as well as anyone I have previously seen. I was also impressed by Kelly-Anne Gower who gave Linda much more depth than usual. (Incidentally, how long before Bill Kenwright casts Stephanie from Over the Rainbow as Linda? She's a real 17 year-old scouser and BK loves telly casting.) Even after so many performances the obligatory tears from the cast at the end are undeniably genuine, a testament of the emotional grip that Blood Brothers exerts - long may it continue....

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