Review: Blood Brothers at Leeds Grand Theatre

“… takes you on an incredible emotional journey…”

Blood Brothers by Willy Russell, Leeds Grand Theatre

by Helen Kelly

Blood Brothers is written by the wonderful playwright Willy Russell (famous for plays such as Educating Rita and Shirley Valentine) and directed by Bob Thornton and Bill Kenwright. The story centres around two families: the Johnstones and the Lyons. The husband of Mrs Johnstone has recently abandoned her, who already has several children, for a younger woman. Now she is pregnant with twins.

The family live hand to mouth as they rely on the cleaning wages from Mrs Lyons. Mrs Lyons, who is unable to have children and with her husband away for nine months, persuades Mrs Johnstone to give her one of her twins when they are born so that she can pass the child off as her own. Desperate, Mrs Johnstone agrees.

The twins, Eddie and Mickey, never met until accidentally one day, when they are nearly eight years old, they became best friends and ‘blood brothers’, not realising that they really are actual brothers. Their mothers tried to keep them apart in fear that disaster might strike, but throughout the play they kept on meeting, even when their lives take them in different directions. This will lead to tragic consequences.

The play begins with the stage set, showing the end of the story. Mrs Johnstone, superbly played by Vivienne Carlyle, is surrounded by others, including Mr and Mrs Lyons, and the Narrator, who are all standing over the bodies of Eddie and Mickey. They sing a few lines of Tell Me It’s Not True before the play takes us back to the beginning, before the twins were born. The story of Mr and Mrs Johnstone starts with the song Marylin Monroe. The Narrator then helps to guide you through the story from the onset.

The wonderful set design by Andy Walmsley transported us through the first half when we were in the inner city through to when the family were relocated in the second half to the countryside. The backdrop of Liverpool with the twinkling lights helped to further support the social and economic life that Mrs Johnstone had as the bright lights of Liverpool look down on her home.

Music supervisor Matt Malone and the talented band played the music flawlessly throughout and with no shortage of powerful songs, they were as much of the cast as those on stage. Matt Malone and the band repeated some of the best songs from the play throughout, such as Marylin Monroe, sung by Mrs. Johnstone in both the first and second half. Shoes Upon the Table was sung six times in total and the Narrator often sang The devil’s Got Your Number, especially when one of the mothers realised the twins had met each other.

The talented ensemble cast played a plethora of characters, from the milkman, passersby, and kids to policemen. There is not one member of the cast that you could pick out as being the strongest because they were all strong and they all played their characters well.

From the moment you meet Mickey (Josh Capper) and Eddie (Joe Sleight) as seven to eight-year olds to the end of the play where they are adults, there is not one part of it where they are unbelievable in their roles.

The actors, Vivienne Carlyle as Mrs Johnstone and Sarah Jane Buckley as Mrs Lyons, played the mothers with varying parenting skills excellently. They portrayed how those skills stemmed not only from financial resources but also from the mothers’ acceptance of their situations. Mrs Lyons was suffering far more from the guilt of the lie than Mrs Johnstone was because, of course, every time Eddie came and saw Mickey, she saw her son again. Vivienne Carlyle’s breathtaking performance drew huge empathy from the audience. During the entire performance, the Narrator played by Scott Anson is onstage watching and leading us seamlessly throughout the play.

The play is 2 hours 50 minutes long. That might sound like a long time for a musical but when I came out of the theatre at 10.25pm, I was surprised that much time had passed. This was not a play where you are sitting counting down the minutes to the interval or the time to go home. There is no time. You are too engrossed in what is happening on the stage.

This play is a typical Willy Russell play: funny in places, yet still has a powerful message. It is a wonderful production that takes you on an incredible emotional journey. The lovely couple next to me told me I would love it and they were right. It seems if you have seen Blood Brothers once, then you are hooked because you will need to keep returning to see it again. Trust me, that is true.

Blood Brothers plays at Leeds Grand Theatre until Saturday 07 December 2024. Tickets are available here.

Helen Kelly wrote and published her first Romance book in 2022 after being inspired by completing three master’s degrees in history. She has now written three books and various short stories. In her spare time, Helen loves to visit various parts of the country, some of which have been an inspiration for her books. Helen is a mother of two grown-up daughters living in North Yorkshire. She loves to read and to visit historical places and theatres. Find out more about Helen at www.helenkellyauthor.com