It's taken me 30 years to see Blood Brothers, no one else should wait that long to see this classic show
Willy Russell’s 1980s classic Blood Brothers is currently showing at The Hawth in Crawley. Very few tickets remain as it is still a very popular piece of musical theatre.
Set in Liverpool in post-war 1960s Britain, it follows the lives of “Eddie” and “Micky” (the Johnstone twins) as they grow up in contrasting worlds.
The opening scene is a major give away to the ending, but the journey there through the sympathetic and emotional story telling takes nothing away from your enjoyment, time goes by so quickly, the interval is an inconvenience!
The seven year old (nearly eight) Micky (played by the brilliant Sean Jones) entertains with his cheeky chappy character, taking you into his teenage angst years (can I, should I , how do I kiss my girl?) onwards to his adult, lonely and depressed years.
The Narrator’s role is truly menacing at times when he's skulking in the background and coming to the fore to enhance those moving scenes and is excellently portrayed by Richard Munday’
And Joe Slight as Eddie provides the perfect patsy to his best friend, and I must of course mention Vivienne Carlyle who was absolutely brilliant as the agonised mother, her vocals are strong and perfectly express her emotions.
The score is very cleverly written, Marilyn Monroe starts as a very funny number but later in the story telling becomes bittersweet. Bright New Day is full of hope, however the final major number Tell Me Its Not True is heart-braking.
I will not give too much away if you have never seen this play before, but I would say do not miss this opportunity, its taken me over 30 years to get around to it!
It was a brilliant night out and all ages will become emotionally attached, laughing, crying, and gasping in horror.
The whole cast give a truly excellent performance, so much so, I think they had at least six curtain calls with a standing ovation.