Waterside Theatre, Aykesbury – until Saturday 22nd February 2025
Reviewed by Rachel Clark
5*****
Phenomenal – you could hear a pin drop!
This musical has now been showing more than 40 years and it is totally amazing. This is the 3rd time I have seen these and the performance was in my view the best so far. The story is about twin brothers soon separated after birth that creates them to lead two totally different lives. Their lives are at opposite ends of the social scale, one living with wealthy parents and the other in poverty. Occasionally their lives cross and they become friends and make a blood brother pact when they find they are born on the same day. In their teens the story tells their life growing up and then they both fall in love with the same girl and tragedy strikes.
This show is totalling Captivating, it starts with the final scene at the beginning and goes on to tell the story, which is narrated by Sean Keany who has a very clear voice with Irish accent and his story telling grips you straight away. The whole theatre is silent and through the first half you could hear a pin drop. Vivienne Carlyle plays Mrs Johnstone the twin’s mother and her voice is powerful and emotional – I can understand how she is a voice over artist and has plenty of Theatre credits to her name and TV. Mrs Lyons was played by Sarah Jane Buckley again a good voice but not as strong as Vivienne’s.
The set is mainly in the street of the Johnstone’s home, with the Lyons on the other side, a great set that gives you the feel of the dividing class of the families.
The boys grown up and Mickey (played by Sean Jones who is brilliant and a very good at playing Mickey as a child and teenager) is a character and in the second half the antics cause laughter in the theatre. The second half in the beginning is a lot more relaxed with the laughter often caused by not only Mickey but his upper-class brother Eddie, trying to swear which creates humour to the show. Linda who is the girl that comes between the boys is played by Gemma Brodick and transitions well from a girl to a woman and had no intention to come between the brothers. This show got a total standing ovation, and I wasn’t not surprised – totally superb.
This is a show not to be missed with lots of talented actors and not forgetting the creative team, that did a great role on the costumes and sets, and the band that played faultlessly. Resident director was Tim Churchill who is also Mr Lyons (Eddie’s father).
I could definitely see this again and again.