Prepare to have your emotions pulled all over the place: it’s time for another tour of Blood Brothers.
If you think there’s no place today for a musical which was written in 1988 and had a 24-year run in the West End, think again. The social problems Willy Russell originally highlighted are just as relevant today—which says a lot about how society has failed to address them.
More than that, Blood Brothers is a cracking story and is simply a brilliant musical.
It’s been dubbed the “standing ovation musical” because so many people get up at the end. That’s what happened at Derby Theatre on the opening night of the new tour. Standing ovations are becoming far more regular these days—but this was definitely deserved.
If you don’t know the story, it’s a simple tale, as all the best ones are. Mrs Johnstone, a working-class mum with seven children, believes she can just about cope when she becomes pregnant again only to discover she is having twins. She cleans house for Mrs Lyons, a childless woman who coerces her into giving away one of her two boys. There’s a superstition that twins separated at birth should never know they were twins; if they do, they will die.
Their mothers try to keep the boys apart, but the twins’ paths cross and they become blood brothers. As they grow older, one becomes successful while the other spirals into a life of crime and depression.
More than half the current 14-strong cast have appeared in previous Blood Brothers productions. They show passion without being stale; they haven’t lost their enthusiasm nor their joy for the show.
A number of familiar faces and voices have played Mrs Johnstone over the years. The latest is Vivienne Carlyle, who previously did so at London’s Phoenix Theatre as well as on tour. She brings a mumsy, touching quality to the role and gives as good a performance as any of her predecessors. Her voice is powerful yet restrained when necessary. You feel for her, as whatever she tries to do, circumstances work against her.
Sean Jones (Mickey) and Joe Sleight (Eddie) reprise their roles as the twins. Both are commendable as they grow from seven-year-olds through their teens to adults.
Jones played Mickey when I last reviewed the show 20 years ago. He is particularly impressive when Mickey develops an addiction to antidepressants, his plight earning compassion from a sell-out audience. After such an impassioned rendition, he looks exhausted at the curtain call.
Sleight comes into his own when he changes from an obedient youngster into an insolent mischief-maker.
Sean Keany gives literally a towering performance as the Narrator. His tall frame and ominous presence are almost always there, his warnings about the consequences of putting new shoes on the table returning consistently and hauntingly.
Other standout displays come from Sarah Jane Buckley as Mrs Lyons, whose neurosis is never allowed to get out of control, and Gemma Brodrick as Linda, who loves both twins in different ways and suffers almost as much as Mrs Johnstone.
There’ve been a few tweaks to Blood Brothers but nothing radical. Director Bob Tomson has been around the show for a number of years, so he knows how to bring out the show’s potency and pathos.
In the first half, Eddie tells Mrs Johnstone: “I think you’re smashing!” Hundreds of people in the Derby Theatre audience and I think Blood Brothers is smashing too.