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Blood Brothers
Malvern Theatres
**** UNLIKE many in the audience this was my
first experience with blood brothers. The story covers the lives of twins Mickey and
Edward (the superb Sean Jones and Joel Benedict) separated at birth,
only to meet again with fateful consequences. Sean, incidentally, has
been playing the role for some 17 years. Written by Willy
Russell (Educating Rita and Shirley Valentine) the two act musical has
many powerful songs which include
Bright New Day, Marilyn Monroe and the
emotionally charged hit Tell Me It’s
Not True. Blood brothers debut performance was in Liverpool
in 1983 and this multi-award winning Bill Kenwright production went on
to spend more than 24 years in the West End amassing more than 10,000
performances – the third longest running show in West End history. The story begins with Mrs Johnstone, a young zest
for life mother, who follows her instincts, believing them to be her
best guide through life. She fell in love while dancing and has now been
deserted by her husband as she sings, she no longer looks like Marilyn
Monroe. Left to her own devices to provide for seven hungry children,
she discovers herself to be pregnant yet again but this time with twins! In a moment of weakness and desperation, she
superstitiously enters a secret pact with her employer to give up one of
the twins thus sending them on dramatically paths – they are to have
different upbringings all highlighting the Nature vs. Nurture debate; is
a person's development predisposed in his DNA, or is influenced by his
life and own experiences? Lyn Paul has been voted the definitive Mrs
Johnstone reprising the role which she has regularly played over the
last 20 years and it is easy to see why, her performance is excellent. The Narrator (Dean Chisnall) is fantastic, a
physical character on stage for the duration of the play providing vital
information to a story he already knows. Unlike a guardian angel he
presents the themes of fate, destiny and superstition, presenting
himself as a figure of doom. Throughout the musical he directly asks the
audience to judge what they see and who is to blame. He is a commentator
and also the conscience watching the characters and often lurking in the
background, which contrasts with other plays and musicals where a
narrator is usually neutral. The other characters do not see him, yet
they certainly seem as if they can feel his presence. Money and influential connections are necessary
to become successful is a message written into the play, Mickey's
journey, despite his good character and hard work, is the basis of the
tragedy in the drama which will either leave you by the end either
coughing quietlywith a lump in the throat or weeping. It is a very simple story but everything about it
is epic, Blood brothers will always stand by each other and this is a
tale worth telling. To 17-09-16 Johnathan Gray 13-09-16
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