Richmond Theatre, Richmond – until 25th February 2023
Reviewed by Bobbi Fenton
5*****
Blood Brothers is one of the best pieces of theatre I have ever seen, and I wish I could give it six stars. Set in the 1960’s, we see single mother Mrs Johnstone (Niki Colwell Evans) struggling to afford the children she already has, and with a pair of twins on the way. She makes a deal with the rich Mrs Lyons (Paula Tappenden) who is unable to have children, to give one of the babies to her, even swearing on the Bible to keep her word. However, after this exchange and the return of Mr Lyons (Tim Churchill), Mrs Lyons becomes worried about ‘her son’ finding out he is a twin, and fires Mrs Johnstone as her cleaner. Throughout this play we watch the two boys become friends, and make a pact to be blood brothers, unaware of their actual familial link. We watch as they both grow up in complete polar opposite homes, with Mikey (Sean Jones) experiencing life in a poor household, whereas Eddie (Joe Sleight) grows up with rich parents, experiencing little difficulty. Their friendship even survives both families moving far away. The difference in circumstances between them is multiplied as the boys grow older. Mikey has to get a job and is barely getting by, after marrying and having a baby with Linda (Olivia Sloyan) who was the third party in their friendship group as children, as well as getting in trouble with the police after losing his job. Eddie, however, gets to go to university and enjoy being young while not worrying about money. This builds the tension between the characters, as we see Mikey eventually snap, and lash out at Eddie over the privilege that he has had for his whole life. It is a very interesting parallel as the two are twins, but they don’t know it, and yet there are still similarities between them despite polar opposite upbringings. By the end of the play, we watch this tension all unfold in an incredibly dramatic scene, which leaves the audience wondering whether it would have been the same outcome if Mrs Lyons had chosen the other baby.
The singing that is performed by the whole cast in this play is absolutely beautiful, that will give you goosebumps at times. I especially enjoyed the repeated song ‘Marilyn Monroe’ by Mrs Johnstone, not to mention the absolutely wonderful song ‘Shoes upon the Table’, which is also repeated a few times, by the Narrator (Richard Munday).
This show is extraordinary, with an ending that will leave you speechless. Make sure not to miss it.