Although it’s initial West End run only lasted six months, winning Olivier Awards for Best New Musical, and for Barbara Dickson’s performance as Mrs Johnstone, hinted at the future potential of Willy Russell’s only musical, Blood Brothers.
Reopening, after a year long national tour, in 1988, the show became the third longest running musical in West End history, before it finally closed last year. Despite this longevity, it has never been re-written – giving us a show that is perfect for first timers, but that greets its returning audiences like a well known and well loved friend.
The terrace of slums along either side of the, incredibly highly raked, stage stand defiantly beside the two empty stretchers that are an indication of the tragic tale that is about to unfold. The overture begins and immediately it is apparent that credit for the atmosphere must go to the sound design of Dan Samson and the amazingly dramatic lighting of Nick Richings.
In the dim light, as the police cover the bodies that now populate the stretchers, the narrator of the tale stands, menacingly, waiting to ask, “Did you ever hear of the Johnstone twins?”. With a flawless Liverpudlian accent, an almost predatory persona, and an incredible voice, Marti Pellow is quite simply perfect as the narrator, appearing and disappearing in the shadowy doorways and alleys around the set.
Playing characters that age from single figures to mid-twenty’s in just a couple of hours is never easy but, Sean Jones and Joel Benedict as the twins Mickey and Eddie manage that transition superbly. Their transformations are totally believable, and, together with Danielle Corlass, as the love interest, Linda, they lead us from their tough but innocent childhoods through to the tragic final scene when secrets are revealed and tragedy strikes.
Kate Jarman, gives a first-rate performance as Mrs Lyons, portraying her fear and paranoia with conviction. She is supported well by Tim Churchill as her long suffering, and work obsessed, husband. The rest of the cast are brilliant at covering the multitude of bit-parts and minor characters with Danny Taylor, suitably vile as Mickey’s older-brother Sammy.
Giving the performance of her life, Maureen Nolan is every inch the Scouse mother. She gives everything she has to the part and rides the emotional rollercoaster right the way through to the tear-jerkingly painful end. In possibly the most dramatic five minutes ever to have been written for a musical, her performance of “Tell Me It’s Not True”, brings the packed house to an incredibly emotional climax and, in recognition of such a magnificent performance, straight to its feet.
This amazing show is a theatrical masterpiece – don’t miss it!
***** Five Stars
