REVIEW
✭✭✭✭☆ 4/5
BLOOD BROTHERS
At the Cliffs Pavilion, Southend
Tue 17 Jan - Sat Jan 21 – 7.30pm
✭✭✭✭☆ 4/5
BLOOD BROTHERS
At the Cliffs Pavilion, Southend
Tue 17 Jan - Sat Jan 21 – 7.30pm
Despite Blood Brothers having successfully toured for many years now, this is the first time that I've had the opportunity to see Willy Russell's multi-award winning musical at the Cliffs Pavilion, Southend. It's a show I was more than familiar with during the mid-1990s, where I was lucky enough to see it quite a few times in the West End; and so I had a good idea of what to expect from this now legendary musical, which tells the fateful tale of twins separated at birth and the tragic consequences of their reunion. I hoped it would hold up to the brilliant performances that came from the Phoenix Theatre cast at that time.
Set in the early eighties in the Liverpool slums, Mrs Johnstone is pregnant - yet again - and, with a husband who has left her and seven hungry children to feed, the news that she is now having twins is not the news that she wants to hear. The lady of the house she cleans, Mrs Lyons, is unable to have children of her own and with her husband away on business, she persuades Mrs Johnstone to give her one of her twins once they are born. The two women make a pact and swear that neither twin will ever know about the other - a superstition that declares that twins who are parted at birth will both die if they ever find out that the other exists, holds the most impact over the two women - and the deal is made.
It's a tough watch seeing the pain Mrs Johnstone is clearly going through giving away one of her newborn sons and throughout the whole show, Niki Colwell Evans perfectly portrays the pain and heartbreak of the mother who is desperately trying to do her best for a family on the breadline. Her vocals hauntingly echo the agonies she is going through, not least in the Easy Terms and Tell Me It's Not True numbers, which will leave the toughest of hearts aching for her sorrow.
Fortunately, it's not entirely doom and gloom and sandwiched between the grittiness of the production are the scenes where the kids are introduced. All of the children are played by adults but for some crazy reason, this is never really questioned and never an issue. Of course, that's down to the brilliantly played performances of the cast and in particular, Sean Jones as Mickey, the twin who is kept my Mrs Johnstone and Joe Sleight who plays Eddie, the twin who ends up in the posh part of town. Their initial meeting as 7 year olds is just delightful and really nicely played. Timothy Lucas totally nails the role of big brother Sammy too. The light to the shade of this show is balanced well and there are lots of laughs to be had in the lighter moments, however, when the darker moments come, they hit with a big punch.
From the get-go the atmosphere of the show is dark and brooding with some fantastic lighting effects hitting the set that is primarily made up of terraced houses either side of street with a backdrop of the sooty Liverpool streets the production is set in. The band, under the direction of Matt Malone, create an amazing sound which is also a constant undercurrent and ambience to the clever movement and scene changes that take place throughout.
My only issue with this musical is that we know what happens at the end from the first scene. Act 2 is almost unbearable as we sense the inevitable ending drawing close and I don't know if it's because we know how it's all going to end, that we get a 'hurry up and get on with it' kind of vibe or is it perhaps just a little drawn out? Either way, when the final scene does arrive, it does with literally all guns blazing and the shock and heartbreak factor stays with you for some time with Mrs Johnstone's final grief-stricken rendition of Tell Me It's Not True with the full cast joining to build a powerful vocal finale to this fateful tale.
It's no wonder then, that this cast received a resounding round of applause and standing ovation throughout the bows on this opening night in Southend. There's a reason the classic shows keep on going and Blood Brothers is one such example. The book alone stands up as a riveting play even without the music but, add to this a musical score that has clever lyrics and cracking melodies, it really is a win/win.
Review: Kim Tobin
Set in the early eighties in the Liverpool slums, Mrs Johnstone is pregnant - yet again - and, with a husband who has left her and seven hungry children to feed, the news that she is now having twins is not the news that she wants to hear. The lady of the house she cleans, Mrs Lyons, is unable to have children of her own and with her husband away on business, she persuades Mrs Johnstone to give her one of her twins once they are born. The two women make a pact and swear that neither twin will ever know about the other - a superstition that declares that twins who are parted at birth will both die if they ever find out that the other exists, holds the most impact over the two women - and the deal is made.
It's a tough watch seeing the pain Mrs Johnstone is clearly going through giving away one of her newborn sons and throughout the whole show, Niki Colwell Evans perfectly portrays the pain and heartbreak of the mother who is desperately trying to do her best for a family on the breadline. Her vocals hauntingly echo the agonies she is going through, not least in the Easy Terms and Tell Me It's Not True numbers, which will leave the toughest of hearts aching for her sorrow.
Fortunately, it's not entirely doom and gloom and sandwiched between the grittiness of the production are the scenes where the kids are introduced. All of the children are played by adults but for some crazy reason, this is never really questioned and never an issue. Of course, that's down to the brilliantly played performances of the cast and in particular, Sean Jones as Mickey, the twin who is kept my Mrs Johnstone and Joe Sleight who plays Eddie, the twin who ends up in the posh part of town. Their initial meeting as 7 year olds is just delightful and really nicely played. Timothy Lucas totally nails the role of big brother Sammy too. The light to the shade of this show is balanced well and there are lots of laughs to be had in the lighter moments, however, when the darker moments come, they hit with a big punch.
From the get-go the atmosphere of the show is dark and brooding with some fantastic lighting effects hitting the set that is primarily made up of terraced houses either side of street with a backdrop of the sooty Liverpool streets the production is set in. The band, under the direction of Matt Malone, create an amazing sound which is also a constant undercurrent and ambience to the clever movement and scene changes that take place throughout.
My only issue with this musical is that we know what happens at the end from the first scene. Act 2 is almost unbearable as we sense the inevitable ending drawing close and I don't know if it's because we know how it's all going to end, that we get a 'hurry up and get on with it' kind of vibe or is it perhaps just a little drawn out? Either way, when the final scene does arrive, it does with literally all guns blazing and the shock and heartbreak factor stays with you for some time with Mrs Johnstone's final grief-stricken rendition of Tell Me It's Not True with the full cast joining to build a powerful vocal finale to this fateful tale.
It's no wonder then, that this cast received a resounding round of applause and standing ovation throughout the bows on this opening night in Southend. There's a reason the classic shows keep on going and Blood Brothers is one such example. The book alone stands up as a riveting play even without the music but, add to this a musical score that has clever lyrics and cracking melodies, it really is a win/win.
Review: Kim Tobin