BILL KENWRIGHT’S
MULTI AWARD-WINNING PRODUCTION OF
BLOOD BROTHERS
AUTUMN CASTING AND NEW DATES
ANNOUNCED
Bill Kenwright’s legendary, award-winning production of the international smash hit musical, Blood Brothers has announced cast for the upcoming Autumn tour which will open at The Playhouse Theatre, Weston-Super-Mare on Tuesday 8 September 2026. It also announces further dates for the 2027 Spring tour.
Vivienne Carlyle will return to the role of Mrs Johnstone. With nightly standing ovations, Carlyle’s rendition of the finale song ‘Tell Me It’s Not True’ will be performed at the 10th Anniversary of Magic at the Musicals at the Royal Albert Hall on 20 September 2026. This concert will then be broadcast at a later date on Magic Radio.
Kristofer Harding will reprise his role as the Narrator between Weston-Super-Mare and Chester before handing over the mantle to Richard Munday who will perform between Birmingham and Northampton. Sean Jones and Joe Sleight will continue as the twin brothers, Mickey and Eddie.
Joining the tour will be Tricia Adele Turner as Mrs Lyonsand Beth Danher as Linda.
The Autumn cast also introduces Jamil Abbasi (Neighbour), Sarah Moss (Donna Marie/Miss Jones), Amelia Poggenpoel (Brenda) and Jack Anthony Smart (Perkins). Reprising their roles will be Tim Churchill (Mr Lyons), Michael Gillette (Sammy), Alex Harland (Policeman/Teacher) and Graeme Kinniburgh (Bus Conductor/ Postman).
Following its first week at The Playhouse Theatre, Weston-Super-Mare, the tour will continue to Cambridge, Oxford, Chelmsford, Grimsby, Chester, Birmingham, Leicester, Crawley, Malvern and will conclude 2026 in Northampton.
The 2027 Spring tour will begin at the Cliffs Pavillion in Southend on Tuesday 12 January 2027 and move to Southampton, Dartford, Sheffield, New Brighton, Cardiff, Eastbourne, Woking, Blackpool, Norwich, Billingham, Skegness, Torquay, Manchester, Croydon, Bath, Leeds before concluding in Shrewsbury on Saturday 22 May 2027. Casting for the Spring 2027 tour to be announced.
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’ (Sunday Times), Bill Kenwright’s production surpassed 10,000 performances in London’s West End and 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.
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.
Willy Russell is 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. The production made a triumphant return to the West End in 2023 with Sheridan Smith.
LISTINGS
Bill Kenwright Ltd presents
BLOOD BROTHERS
2026 and 2027 UK Tour
Written by Willy Russell
Directed by Bob Tomson & Bill Kenwright
Resident Director Tim Churchill
Music Supervisor Matt Malone
Sound by Dan Samson
Set & Costumes by Andy Walmsley
Lighting by Nick Richings
Running Time: 2 hours 45 minutes (including interval)
Autum Tour 2026
Weston-Super-Mare The Playhouse parkwoodtheatres.co.uk
Tues 8 – 12 Sep
Cambridge The Arts Theatre artstheatre.co.uk
Tues 15 – 19 Sep
Oxford Playhouse oxfordplayhouse.com
Tues 22 – 26 Sep
Chelmsford Theatre chelmsfordtheatre.co.uk
Tues 29 Sep – Sat 3 Oct
Grimsby Auditorium grimsbyauditorium.org.uk
Tues 6 – Sat 10 Oct
Chester Storyhouse Theatre storyhouse.com
Tues 13 – Sat 17 Oct
Birmingham Hippodrome birminghamhippodrome.com
Tues 20 – 24 Oct
Leicester Curve curveonline.co.uk
Tues 27 – Sat 31 Oct
Crawley The Hawth parkwoodtheatres.co.uk
Tues 10 – Sat 14 Nov
Malvern Theatre malvern-theatres.co.uk
Tues 17 – Sat 21 Nov
Northampton Royal and Derngate royalandderngate.co.uk
Tues 24 – Sat 28 Nov
Spring 2027 Tour
Southend Cliffs Pavillion trafalgartickets.com
Tues 12 – Sat 16 Jan
Southampton Mayflower mayflower.org.uk
Tues 19 – Sat 23 Jan
Dartford Orchard Theatre trafalgartickets.com
Tues 26 – Sat 30 Jan
Sheffield Lyceum sheffieldtheatres.co.uk
Tues 2 – 6 Feb
New Brighton Floral Pavillion floralpavillion.com
Tues 9 – Sat 13 Feb
Cardiff Wales Millenium Centre wmc.org.uk
Tues 16 – 20 Feb
Eastbourne Congress Theatre trafalgartickets.com
Tues 23 – Sat 27 Feb
Woking Theatre
On sale from 15 September 2026
Tue 2 – Sat 6 March atgtickets.com/Woking
Blackpool Winter Gardens wintergardensblackpool.co.uk
Tues 9 – Sat 13 Mar
Norwich Theatre Royal norwichtheatre.org
Tues 16 – Sat 20 Mar
Billingham Forum Theatre forumtheatrebillingham.co.uk
Tues 23 – Sat 27 Mar
Skegness Embassy Theatre embassytheatre.co.uk
Wed 31 Mar – Sat 3 Apr
Torquay Princess Theatre
On sale from 15 September 2026
Tue 6 – Sat 10 Apr atgtickets.com/Torquay
Manchester Palace
On sale from 15 September 2026
Tue 13 – Sat 24 Apr atgtickets.com/Manchester
Croydon Fairfield Halls fairfield.co.uk
Tues 27 Apr – Sat 1 May
Bath Theatre Royal theatreroyal.org.uk
Tues 4 – Sat 8 May
Leeds Grand Theatre leedsheritagetheatres.com
Tues 11 – 15 May
Shrewsbury Theatre Severn theatresevern.co.uk
Tues 18 – Sat 22 May