Despite being more than forty years old, Blood Brothers – a product of Willie Russell’s fertile imagination and holder of a record-breaking run in the West End – still retains its relevance and entertainment value in the Twenty-First Century.
That was proved when it had its opening night at the Regent Theatre as part of its UK tour. It was, quite rightly, greeted with a prolonged standing ovationthat induced five curtain calls.
Mrs Johnstone (Niki Colwell Evans) is a working-class diamond of a mother who loves her children but struggles to make ends meet. So, when she realises that she is about to become the mother of twins a financial quandary appears on the horizon.
A potential solution is offered. Her rich employer Mrs Lyons (Paula Tappenden) is unable to have children of her own and offers to unofficially adopt one of the two boys and pass it off as her own to her unwitting and absent husband (Tim Churchill). Despite initially agreeing, Johnstone has second thoughts when the time arrives and the superstitious woman has grave doubts when some new shoes are placed on the table.
The curse initially seems to have no effect. Mickey (Sean Jones) grows up in a rough and ready but happy Johnstone household while Eddie (Jay Worley) receives all the benefits of living in affluence. The twins meet by accident and become blood brothers when they realise they share the same birthday. Despite the best efforts of the respective mothers, the two become inseparable and enjoy life alongside tomboy Linda (Carly Burns). But the day of reckoning will come.
All of this is predicted by the Narrator (Richard Munday) who drifts on and off the stage warning the audience in poetry and song that the price must be paid.
The audience is made aware that there will be no happy ending to this story as the opening scene has two bodies carried from the stage. But the heart-rending finale to the action hits the onlooker like an express train and is in complete contrast to the hilarious scenes that have come before. The first meeting between Mickey and Eddie is a truly laugh-out-loud piece of comedy and this is matched by the scene when Mickey plucks up the courage to ask the willing Linda to be his girlfriend. The perfect observation of tongue-tied teenage love.
Mickey loses his job and is dragged into crime by elder brother Sammy (Timothy Lucas) causing a mental breakdown. When the increasingly unstable Mrs Lyons pours poisonous words into Mickey’s ears regarding Linda’s supposed infidelity the stage is set for a conclusion that wrings every drop of emotion from the audience.
The lead actors are superb and give faultless displays with Evans showing a heart of gold that is ripped apart in a peerless and highly emotional rendition of the final song Tell Me It’s Not True. Munday acts with the perfect calm but pessimistic manner while Jones and Worley create an excellent on-stage partnership with great comic timing. Burns provides beautiful love interest and there is good acting from Tappenden as her world falls apart.
These are all backed up by a cast that shows its versatility that very effectively portrays a range of different characters of different ages who all add to the pace of the play and includes Birches Head’s own Melissa Potts.
Mention must also be made of a very effective score. Much of the music runs like a thread through the action with Marilyn Monroe starting as a breezy number but becoming increasingly gloomy; Shoes Upon The Table constantly reminds that tragedy is on the horizon; Easy Terms reiterates that a price must be paid for a person’s actions whether that be buying on the never-never or getting involved in events of dubious morality. However, the final song is a suitably dramatic ending to a powerful piece of drama and its title echoed my thoughts – Tell Me It’s Not True that this magnificent production is over.
Excellently directed by Bob Tomson and Bill Kenwright with excellent staging by Andy Walmsley, Nick Richings, Dan Samson and Matt Malone, this is another must-not-miss theatrical blockbuster. The Narrator repeats throughout that the Devil has your number. I think that is true. I am sure that I will be haunted by the pleasure and pain of Blood Brothers for some time to come. And I will never put new shoes on the table ever again!!
