|
|
|
|
|
Tears and cheers for an old friend
Cowboys, indians, benefits and skipping songs in the playgrounds of the poor, the slum streets of Liverpool Blood Brothers Wolverhampton Grand **** WHEN two of the stars and half the audience are in tears at the end of the show it has either been an unmitigated disaster or a triumph and a deserved standing ovation gave you the answer. Originally a school play Willie Russell's
musical has been engaging audiences for 30 years and comes around
regularly which is a tribute to not only its stamina but also its
popularity. True, a few lines look a bit dated these days.
You would be pushed to get someone to act as a lookout for a robbery on
the life-changing promise of £50 – which was earmarked to pay for
a slap up dinner for two, a night dancing and new clothes! But the basic story holds firm. For those who
have never seen it, a Liverpool mum deserted by her husband has seven
kids, bailiffs at the door, social services talking about children going
into care and twins on the way. The woman who employs her as a cleaner is desperate for a child so with persuasion a deal is struck and one twin grows up in luxury to become a councillor, the other ends up in jail. To add to the mix the brothers fall for the same girl, which leads to the tragic climax. The tale is told by a slightly sinister narrator
who seems to have had a humour by-pass. On opening night Warwick Evans
was indisposed so that meant a reshuffle with Tim Churchill taking his
part, Graeme Kinniburgh taking Churchill's part of Mr Lyons and Samuel
Hargreaves in turn taking his part as the bus conductor.
Micky
(Sean Jones) makes the life that will change and ultimately cost him his
life . And Churchill did a splendid job in the
role of the stern, humourless cross between conscience and inquisitor
while the rest fitted in as if they had always been there. The creal honours though go to Maureen Nolan as
the believable and very human Mrs Johnstone, the mum with the production
line womb and the twin she kept, Micky played yet again by Sean Jones. Jones has made the role virtually his own growing
from the seven year old – who is nearly eight – to the broken man in his
mid-twenties ravaged by despair, prison and addiction to
anti-depressants. We see all the fun, happiness, dreams, hopes and any
ambition drained away from him as life at the bottom of the pile takes
its toll. Both he and Nolan were in tears at the end, and
it was easy to see why after two highly charged, emotional performances. After seeing the show in its various
configurations many times it is easy to get a little blasé and it takes
special performances like these to make you remember what a good show
this is. Tracy Spencer is a convincing Mrs Lyons, the
somewhat flaky rich recipient of the secret twin Eddie, played by Mark
Hutchinson, who produces some lovely touches as the rather naïve and
sheltered posh boy on the scruffy streets of Liverpool. He and Mickey, their real relationship unknown,
become unlikely best friends sealed in blood when they find they share a
birthday – not knowing that was not all they shared. Mickey's older brother Sammy, played by Daniel
Taylor, who has a plate in his head – and not much else – after a
childhood accident Around that is woven tensions, fears of the
mothers at the secret being exposed, class divisions . . . and Mrs Lyons
playing on Mrs Johnstone's blind belief in superstition to ensure she
would keep Edward and the secret would always be safe – the key to the
plot.
Olivia Sloyan is another who grows from child in
the space of three hours or so as Linda who waits patiently for
Mickey to finally ask her out and then loses him almost immediately to
an ill fated job with the now small-time gangster Sammy. Perhaps an advantage of seeing a show so many
times is you start to notice ither things such as how beautifully this
show directed by Bob Tomson and Bill Kenwright has been lit by Mark
Howett with a set from Andy Walmsley that allows seamless scene changes.
The dramtic climax, incidentally, was the best I have seen. Timing and
sound spot on. Sound on opening night, always a challenge for
touring productions, especially when an actor missing means a reshuffle,
was a little fuzzy at times on multi-part and chorus high-tempo
numbers but most of the time every word was clear which is also a
tribute to a fine cast. A mention to for musical director Kelvin Towse
and his seven piece orchestra who managed to sound much fuller and
bigger for well known numbers such as Marilyn Monroe and, perhaps
the most recognisable of the show, Tell Me It's Not True. If you haven't seen the show, perhaps you should
and if you have, Blood Brothers is like an old friend on a regular visit
and well worth seeing again. To 04-05-13 Roger Clarke
THE gripping story of the Johnstone twins
is back with its bumper bundle of humour, menace and tragedy that ends
in tears . . .on stage and in the packed audience. Willy Russell's classic keeps coming back and the
customers keep rolling in for a show that has been nicknamed 'The
Standing Ovation Musical'. Sure enough the first night audience at the Grand
were on their feet after the heart-stopping shoot-out finale, applauding
and cheering a fine cast. And Maureen Nolan, superb as the ever-pregnant
Mrs Johnstone, could be seen mopping away the tears as she left the
stage, drained by the emotion of it all. Bill Kenwright's production recently exceeded
10,000 performances in the West End - one of only three musicals to
achieve that milestone - and it has become one of those unmissable
events. Sean Jones must have clocked up a remarkable
number of appearances as Mickey, the twin who is kept at home with his
poor family while his brother is allowed to go to a wealthy childless
couple. He is terrific, first as a scruffy seven-year-old and later as
the tragic adult who ends up in prison then reliant on drugs. By accident he meets up with his twin and,
despite the class divide, they become 'blood brothers', only for it all
to end in tragedy when they fall for the same girl, Linda (Olivia Sloyan). Mark Hutchinson impresses as the other twin,
Eddie, and on opening night Tim Churchill stepped in confidently
for Warwick Evans as the Narrator, and there are strong performances
from Tracy Spencer (Mrs Lyons) and Graham Martin who delivers a
remarkable instant transformation from a posh school master to a
harrassed teacher in a tough council school. There's even a randy
bewigged Judge in the show! To 04.05.13 Paul Marston
|
|
|
|
