8 – 12 March

Directed with panache by Bob Tomson and Bill Kenwright, this polished production of Blood Brothers is full of good things, including memorable songs and vividly portrayed characters. More than that, there is a very intriguing initial set up, for the idea of separated twins has an undeniable fascination. Locate those twins in strikingly different surroundings, and the old nature versus nurture debate comes alive.

Right from the start we know that the Johnstone twins are doomed. Their bodies are laid out before us, and the Narrator, acting very much like the chorus in a Greek tragedy, tells us that they met their end, ‘Never knowing that they shared one name, till the day they died.’ Blood Brothers is about what brought those twins to an early death, and about the inequities of a social class system that condemns some to a life of grinding poverty while giving others golden opportunities on a plate. This all sounds rather grim, but Willy Russell has thrown a generous dose of humour into the mix. This very engaging production of Blood Brothers will have many sniffing into their tissues by the end, but they will have had quite a few laughs beforehand.

Much of that humour arises from having adult actors portraying children growing up from age seven through to young adulthood. Mickey and Eddie are the eponymous twin brothers separated when babies who by chance become best mates as kids. Having played the role many times in the West End and on tour, Sean Jones is entirely convincing as snotty-nosed Mickey, a lad from a dysfunctional family who knows all about life’s hard knocks, but who has no idea what a dictionary might be. He is enlightened by his posh new friend Eddie, who knows quite a lot about books, but who has much to learn from Mickey about rude words and the fun that can be had from throwing stones at windows. Joel Benedict, all spick and span in school uniform, neatly captures Eddie’s naïve admiration for Mickey’s rough and ready ways. Their class differences are somewhat caricatured, so much so that it is a tribute to both actors that Mickey’s quickly formed friendship with the very different Eddie is at all believable. Carly Burns is equally convincing as Linda, a sweet girl whose thwarted attempts to kiss the cripplingly shy Mickey are very funny indeed. Later, their relationship takes on a far darker tone.

Blood Brothers is about sibling friendship and rivalry, but it is also very much about motherhood. Returning to the role having first played it ten years ago, Niki Evans is quite splendid as the overly fertile Mrs Johnstone, an abandoned Scouser housewife with seven children who, when faced with the prospect of having two more mouths to feed, gives one twin away. Fans of X-Factor will know that Evans has a magnificent voice, heard to particularly thrilling effect in Marilyn Munroe and the great final tear-jerker Tell Me It’s Not True. Mrs Johnstone is a very foolish, superstitious woman, but in this winning performance it is her well-intentioned warm heartedness and determined optimism that shines through.

Much less likeable is the other ‘mother’, Mrs Lyons, the manipulative, childless middle-class woman who contrives the scheme to have one of the twins as her own. She could be seen as an exploitative villain, but Paula Tappenden gives a carefully nuanced portrayal of her descent into guilt-ridden desperation that leaves room for some sympathy.

It might be thought that the plot relies too much upon coincidence, and that the narrative becomes somewhat over-heated at times, descending into melodrama. There certainly are some sudden shifts in mood. Over the past thirty or more years those criticisms have often been levelled at this musical, but its popularity remains undimmed. For those who like to ride a roller coaster of emotions and who aren’t too concerned by the occasional implausibility, Blood Brothers has a great deal to offer. Last night driving home, I found Tell Me It’s Not True ringing in in my head, and the feeling that, despite some misgivings, the standing ovation this show had been given was very well deserved.

★★★★☆   Mike Whitton  9th March

Photo credit: Jack Merriman