Birmingham Hippodrome – until 4 May 2024
Reviewed by Amarjeet Singh
4****
Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers is an epic tale set in Liverpool spanning the 60’s, 70’s and 80s. With powerful themes of poverty, class divides, superstition and fate, it centres around the destiny of 2 boys, separated at birth but whose lives are intrinsically drawn together with devastating consequences.
Mrs Johnstone is a struggling, working class, single mother, having been left with a brood of children by her philandering husband. Pregnant with twin boys when he leaves, and barely able to make ends meet, she takes a cleaning job with a wealthy childless couple who are desperate to have a baby of their own. Upon learning of her dire straits, the lady of the house, Mrs Lyons, lures Mrs Johnstone into making a pact, that on the surface will solve everyone’s problems, but in actuality, leads to tragedy, as Mrs Johnstone agrees to let Mrs Lyons take one of the twin baby boys. The pact turns sour, things go awry. But for the safety of the boys, both women agree to never tell them the truth, parting ways and futures. But blood will tell, and the boys reconnect time and time again, their lives shaped by their environments, yet they become best friends and “blood brothers” until the realities of the world take hold and their differences become too stark to ignore, leading to a truly explosive conclusion.
Blood Brothers is powerful, provocative and deals with a lot of thought-provoking themes, which are still as relevant today as they were when the play was first written. However, there was humour aplenty amongst the heartbreak with some truly laugh out loud moments. The scenes depicting the boys as children were magical. Niki Colwell Evans is incredible as Mrs Johnstone. Watching her character grow as she transitions through the ages and witnessing her express a variety of emotions is stunning. She perfectly captured the distress, despair and the drain of a mother who has given up a baby. Her powerful voice is exquisite. Sean Jones’ depiction of Mickey as a 7-year-old completely captured his cheeky childhood capers. He had the audience utterly captivated as he rode in on an imaginary horse and firing his gun. Total brilliance. I wasn’t quite sure if Scott Anson as the Narrator, was supposed to be hamming it up, as it was quite comical rather than dramatic when he appeared on stage as the very present and rather heavy handed ‘Harbinger of Doom’, stating the obvious. Well played if so, with a great voice. The cast as a whole were an incredibly talented team of actors and singers, jumping from role to role in the blink of an eye, they fully embraced the character they were embodying.
With an end scene that shocked and stunned, Blood Brothers garnered a standing ovation and thunderous round of applause from an audience who were completely entertained by a superb cast.