|AD – Press Night Invitation |
I’m going to start with a confession. Despite being a serious theatre nerd and dedicated visitor, I’ve made it to the grand old age of 31 and still never seen Blood Brothers! (don’t @ me)
It’s a serious stage classic that’s been running for around 24 years and yet last night was my first time with the infamous brothers and it’s dramatic twists and turns! I had no idea what to expect walking into the theatre last night (trust me, it’s better that way) but I did know that this musical is held dearly in the hearts of so many for a long long time…bring it on!
The curtain lifts to reveal two dead bodies in the streets of Liverpool which set the tone for where the story was going to lead. I sat down a little deeper into my seat ready for a gritty, sweary gangster play filled with blood, gore and betrayal… .
But what I actually ended up watching was an incredibly funny and heartwarming story of two siblings split apart at birth. An entertaining look into the innocence of childhood…and only a little bit of blood and gore!
I wasn’t expecting Blood Brother’s to be as funny as it was, nor as charming – it was a real surprise and had some lovely songs throughout. Ok, so it’s very 80’s in parts and for me the use of the Narrator was a little simplistic but the story line grabbed me from curtain up to curtain down and I was really on the edge of my seat at the end of the second half! There may or may not have been some tears too – damn it Blood Brothers, you got me good.
I adored the continual reprise of Marilyn Monroe adapting to the ever-changing narrative of the characters, and the second half in general being a little more gritty than the first appealed to my dark theatre viewing nature! It raised some important issues around mental health and financial prosperity that I wish they’d delved into a little further and the song ‘Miss Jones’ (sign of the times) was giving me ALL the Billy Elliot vibes, I loved it.
Despite being a virgin viewer, I very much loved the fact that Lyn Paul was back on stage as Mrs Johnstone having played the role originally back in 1997 and a various points over the last 20 years. It was a lovely touch and Lyn was effortless throughout. A special mention to Alexander Patmore as Mickey and Danielle Corlass as Linda who stole the show for me – they were both pretty darn epic in their roles bringing them to life with some seriously great physicality.
If you haven’t yet seen this stage classic now’s your chance! Blood Brothers is showing at The Birmingham Hippodrome
until the 12th October!
BOOK YOUR TICKETS HERE