REVIEW: Blood Brothers – A timeless tale that still resonates today

Joe Sleight, Gemma Brodrick & Sean Jones – Blood Brothers UK Tour 2024 – Photo Credit Jack Merriman

Venue: Aylesbury Waterside Theatre

Performance Date: 28 January 2025

Reviewer: Gemma Fincher

Star Rating: ★★★★

Few musicals have the emotional weight and lasting power of Blood Brothers, and Bill Kenwright’s latest touring production proves that Willy Russell’s masterpiece is as compelling and relevant as ever. First staged in 1983, Blood Brothers has spent decades captivating audiences with its potent mix of social commentary, gut-wrenching tragedy, and dark humour. It remains a staple on the school curriculum, its themes of class divide, fate, and nurture vs. nature continuing to spark discussion.

This latest production doesn’t reinvent the wheel, nor does it need to. Kenwright’s take is a solid, heartfelt interpretation that delivers everything you’d expect from this iconic show; powerful performances, gripping storytelling, and a score that lingers long after the final curtain falls.

At the heart of Blood Brothers is the story of Mickey and Edward (Eddie), twin brothers separated at birth. One raised in a struggling working-class household, the other in an affluent middle-class home. Their lives, though intertwined by fate and friendship, unfold in stark contrast, illustrating the brutal reality of social inequality. Watching their journey from carefree childhood to the crushing weight of adulthood is both beautiful and devastating, and this production captures that trajectory with striking clarity.

The touring cast is strong. Sean Jones and Joe Sleight portray Mickey and Eddie in this production and rise to the challenge of depicting the twins’ entire life spans, transitioning from excitable seven-year-olds to troubled adults with seamless ease. Their performances are rich with nuance, Mickey’s boisterous energy and vulnerability contrasting sharply with Edward’s sheltered optimism and privilege. Every shift in their relationship, from innocent childhood games to the heartbreaking divisions imposed by circumstance is felt in their performances.

Vivienne Carlyle plays the conflicted and heartbroken Mrs. Johnstone. The role requires an immense emotional range; hope, despair, warmth, and heartbreak all wrapped into one. Carlyle delivers all with a sincerity that at times makes her pain palpable. Her rendition of “Tell Me It’s Not True” in the show’s gut-punch of a finale is as haunting as ever, leaving the theatre in stunned silence before the inevitable standing ovation.

Sean Keany’s Narrator is ever-present and looming, and another highlight. His eerie, omniscient presence adds an extra layer of intensity, a reminder that the tragic conclusion is inescapable. His delivery of the recurring motifs “Did you ever hear the story of the Johnstone twins?” serves as a chilling echo of fate at play, making each scene feel all the more inevitable.

While Blood Brothers is set in Liverpool during the latter half of the 20th century, its themes remain disturbingly relevant today. The class disparity that drives the twins apart feels no less significant in an era of rising social inequality. The play’s exploration of mental health, particularly in Mickey’s downward spiral following redundancy, feels eerily prescient in the current climate, where economic struggles continue to take their toll on working-class communities. The show asks difficult questions about opportunity, privilege, and whether we are truly in control of our destinies, questions that still resonate powerfully in 2025.

Andy Walmsley’s production’s design remains relatively simple, allowing the performances to take centre stage. The set effectively shifts between the warm but chaotic Johnstone home, the pristine Lyons household, and the bleak industrial backdrop that looms over the brothers’ fate. Nick Richlings lighting choices are particularly effective, casting shadows over pivotal moments and enhancing the tension in the show’s latter half.

Kenwright’s Blood Brothers remains a theatrical mainstay, proof that some stories never lose their impact. Whether you’ve seen it before or are experiencing it for the first time, this production is an emotional rollercoaster well worth taking. A true classic that continues to pack a punch, Blood Brothers reminds us that the past may shape us, but the divisions it creates are still being played out in the present.

Runs until: Saturday 01 February 2025

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