I was lucky enough to catch Willy Russel’s musical Blood Brothers at the Lyceum last night and it did not disappoint! I was initially concerned that as the story is such a longstanding classic, the production might be tired or stale, however, I was happily proved wrong by the cast and crew. ’Classic’ is the perfect way to describe Tuesday night’s performance.
Like many other students, Blood Brothers was simply a hazy memory in my mind from years ago at school. I vaguely remembered the story of two brothers separated at birth and remembered the gruesome ending of the play, but couldn’t quite remember all of the bits and pieces in the middle that lead to the tragic end. Thankfully, the musical wasn’t all doom and gloom as I had remembered and, at times, was absolutely hysterical.
The stars of the show were definitely the hilarious Mickey, played by Sean Jones, alongside Sammy (Timothy Lucas) and Eddie (Joe Sleight). The friendship between Mickey and Eddie is undoubtedly central to the musical, and both Jones and Sleight did an excellent job of portraying the way their characters come from completely contrasting worlds, despite the fact they live so close to one another. The way the two actors bounced off of each other on stage was simply electric, and although they were adults playing the role of children, their performance never felt like a facade. It was both hilarious and heartwarming.
Although all of the cast had incredible voices (and really charming scouse accents too), most notably was the voice of Niki Colwell Evans, in the role of Mrs. Johnstone. Her performance of one of the musical’s most famous songs, Marilyn Monroe, was utterly mesmerising. Despite the fact that Mrs. Johnstone faces many challenges throughout the course of the musical, she still managed to make the audience laugh at times, especially with her cheeky dalliance with the milkman.
The duality of Blood Brothers is incredible, both side-splitting and simultaneously devastating. I urge you to buy a ticket if you can!
Blood brothers is playing at the Lyceum through to the 29th April 2023. Tickets are available here.
