BILL KENWRIGHT PRESENTS
THE LONG AWAITED RETURN OF THE MULTI-AWARD WINNING MUSICAL
BLOOD BROTHERS
STARRING LYN PAUL WHO RETURNS TO THE SHOW
AS THE ICONIC MRS JOHNSTONE
OPENING AT THE THEATRE ROYAL PLYMOUTH
AHEAD OF A 16 WEEK UK TOUR
RUNNING FROM 13 AUGUST – 27 NOVEMBER 2021
Bill Kenwright‘s legendary production of the international smash hit musical Blood Brothers returns to the stage. The much-loved musical, which performed to sell-out houses and standing ovations on its most recent UK tour in 2019-2020, returns with gusto, re-opening at the Theatre Royal Plymouth on 13 August 2021.
In celebration of the musicals’ relaunch, Lyn Paul returns for her farewell tour in the iconic role of Mrs Johnstone, which she first made her own in London’s West End.
Completing the cast is: Hannah Barr (Brenda), Joel Benedict (Eddie), Josh Capper (Neighbour), Tim Churchill (Mr Lyons), Danielle Corlass (Linda), Grace Galloway (Donna Marie/Miss Jones), Andy Owens(Perkins), Alex Patmore (Mickey), Robbie Scotcher (Narrator), Paula Tappenden (Mrs Lyons) and Danny Taylor (Sammy).
Written by award-winning playwright Willy Russell, few musicals have been received with such acclaim as the multi-award-winning Blood Brothers. Considered ‘one of the best musicals ever written’ (Sunday Times), Bill Kenwright’s production surpassed 10,000 performances in London’s West End, one of only three musicals ever to achieve that milestone. It has been affectionately christened the ‘Standing Ovation Musical’, as inevitably it “brings the audience cheering to its feet and roaring its approval” (Daily Mail).
This epic tale of Liverpool life started as a play, performed at a Liverpool comprehensive school in 1981, before opening at the Liverpool Playhouse in 1983. The musical has since triumphed across the globe, completing sell out seasons in the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Japan, and scooping up four awards for Best Musical in London and seven Tony Award nominations on Broadway.
The superb score includes A Bright New Day, Marilyn Monroe and the emotionally charged hit Tell Me It’s Not True.
Blood Brothers tells the captivating and moving tale of twins separated at birth, who grow up on the opposite sides of the tracks, only to meet again with tragic consequences.
When Mrs Johnstone, a young mother, is deserted by her husband and left to her own devices to provide for seven hungry children she takes a job as a housekeeper in order to make ends meet. It is not long before her brittle world crashes around her when she discovers herself to be pregnant yet again – this time with twins! In a moment of weakness and desperation, she enters a secret pact with her employer which leads inexorably to the show’s shattering climax.
Lyn Paul first rose to fame in the early 1970s as a member of the New Seekers, whose hit ‘I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing’ sold over 20 million copies and remains one of the 100 best-selling UK singles of all time. Lyn also featured as the lead vocalist on the 1974 number-one hit ‘You Won’t Find Another Fool Like Me’.
Willy Russell is undeniably one of this country’s leading contemporary dramatists. His countless credits include Educating Rita and Shirley Valentine. Educating Rita, originally commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, enjoyed a two-year run in the West End and was made into a movie starring Michael Caine and Julie Walters. Shirley Valentine also made the move from stage to screen in an enormously popular film starring Pauline Collins and Tom Conti.
LISTINGS
Bill Kenwright presents
BLOOD BROTHERS
2021 UK Tour
Written by Willy Russell
Directed by Bob Tomson & Bill Kenwright
Musical Direction by Matt Malone
Sound by Dan Samson
Set & Costumes by Andy Walmsley
Lighting by Nick Richings
Associate Lighting Designer – Darran Curtis
Tour Dates: Friday 13 August – Saturday 27 November 2021
Theatre Royal Plymouth – theatreroyal.com
13 August – 21 August 2021 – 01752 267222
Oxford New Theatre – atgtickets.com/oxford
31 August – 04 September 2021 – 0844 871 7615
Southampton Mayflower Theatre – mayflower.org.uk
07 September – 11 September 2021 – 02380 711811
Nottingham Theatre Royal – trch.co.uk
14 September – 18 September 2021- 0115 989 5555
Newcastle Theatre Royal – theatreroyal.co.uk
21 September – 25 September 2021- 08448 11 21 21
Chester Storyhouse – storyhouse.com
28 September – 02 October 2021 – 01244 409113
King’s Theatre Glasgow – atgtickets.com/glasgow
05 October – 09 October 2021 – 0844 871 7615
Edinburgh Playhouse – atgtickets.com/edinburgh
12 October – 16 October 2021- 0844 871 7615
Bradford Alhambra Theatre – bradford-theatres.co.uk
19 October – 23 October 2021 – 01274 432000
Shrewsbury Severn Theatre – theatresevern.co.uk
26 October – 30 October 2021 – 01743 281281
Birmingham Hippodrome – birminghamhippodrome.com
02 November – 13 November 2021 – 0844 338 5000
Cheltenham Everyman Theatre – everymantheatre.org.uk
16 November – 20 November 2021 – 01242 572573
Woking New Victoria Theatre – atgtickets.com/woking
23 November – 27 November 2021 – 0844 871 7615
Running Time: 2 hours 45 minutes (including interval)
Website: kenwright.com
Social Media: @BKL_Productions