REVIEW: Blood Brothers at Mayflower Theatre

Do you know the story of the Johnstone twins? Take a trip to the Merseyside as ‘Blood Brothers’ has returned to Southampton’s Mayflower Theatre once again. Willy Russell’s ‘Blood Brothers’ is a multi-award winning acclaimed musical, being one of just three musicals to have surpassed 10,000 performances on the West-End. You can definitely see how ‘Blood Brothers’ reached that milestone, and you can also definitely see how Bill Kenwright’s (producer) production got the title of the, “Standing Ovation Musical”. This is a story written as a musical, for musical lovers, and it brings people back time and time again. This isn’t your classic upbeat feel-good musical, but more of a modern tragedy – a modern day Shakespeare if you will – but this doesn’t mean it’s doom and gloom the whole time however.

This is actually my second time seeing this musical and not much has changed. I mean, if it’s not broken right? Original directors, Bob Tomson and Bill Kenwright, have clearly done a great job at staging this show in such a way to keep it engaging to the eye and energetic enough to allow the story to flow. The story from Russell is incredibly well written, and at the time of its first show back in 1981, I can imagine it getting just as much recognition as it still does today. With the story and direction not really changing from the original in 1981, certain parts of the scripting, direction and story have started to feel dated and of their time. This doesn’t take away from how well the story is written but it does make the musical feel old and almost like you’re watching a musical from the 80s or 90s. The type of set and lighting used along with the music also made me feel as if what I was watching was taken straight from the 80s/90s – but it matched the story. 

This heart-wrenching story is brought to life by a fantastic cast.

‘Blood Brothers’ is now actually studied in a lot of English school curriculums  so many people will be aware of the story. For those who don’t know the story however, without giving too much away, it’s a tale of two twins who are separated at birth only to grow up with living two completely different lives before meeting again with fateful consequences. This heart-wrenching story is brought to life by a fantastic cast that bring bits of childhood and angered energy (If you know you know). In particular, the twins mum, ‘Mrs Johnson’, is probably one of modern day theatres power-house roles. Playing her is Niki Colwell Evans and she was sensational. Her performance was so moving and you could tell even though her characters circumstances were extreme, the audience was resonating with her every move. As for her voice, she stole the show with that; ‘Tell Me It’s Not True’ was definitely well worth the wait, and I think her tears tell you how much that meant to her as well. Incredible! 

Playing the twins from the age of “seven nearly eight” right the way throughout their lives were Sean Jones as the less fortunate ‘Mickey’, and Joe Sleight as the more fortunate ‘Eddie’ (if thats the best way to describe them?). Sean, from the moment he stepped out as that seven year old Scouse boy was brilliant. His comedic timing was spot on and you actually started to forget the he was an adult playing a child. On the contrast, as he gets into his adult years, his performance only heightens. Such a convincing and passionate performance. Much the same can be said with Joe. The bond that these two share on stage really makes you believe that they’re the best of friends. The comedy Joe uses is different from Sean, as he’s not the same Scouse little boy, but instead posh and upper class; which he delivers to perfection. Russell has written to these differences perfectly. Overseeing the whole show is Scott Anson as the ‘Narrator’, who does a fantastic job at being almost the devil figure through song and rhyme. I also just need to mention Sarah Jane Buckley as ‘Mrs Lyons’ because her performance as the so called ‘bad guy’ was spine chilling. I wish I could write a line or two for every individual cast member, but they all brought their own little quirks to their roles and none of it went unnoticed – superb!  

When it comes to the set, it does feel like a set for a show from the 90s but I guess thats exactly what it is. In the same way, it feels dated with the static side houses being there throughout the performance, and the cheesy backdrops of either the city or countryside. However it is still grand like you would expect from a West-End show. The flats of a new house or certain pieces of scenery that fly in do just enough to make you feel as if you’re somewhere new. The lights were the particular thing that made this feel like an older production. There was lots of relying on spotlights, with your standard red and blues also highly used. I did like the certain light effects when it came to setting the scene, for example in the prison. The whole lighting output was actually more complex than it seemed but still with that dated vibe which I guess is sticking with the theme of the show. 

Onto the music. With a musical of its stature, some of the songs off the soundtrack have understandably become very well known in the theatre world. Arguably the most famous of which I have already mentioned, ‘Tell Me It’s Not True’, but also ’Marilyn Monroe’ cannot be forgotten. Having a soundtrack and score played out by a live band is a must for big musicals. Hearing the ‘Blood Brothers’ band led by Matt Malone, play this powerful, rocky, and emotional score was perfect. They were the perfect accompaniment to Russell’s lyrics – no matter how repetitive they may be. This musical is extremely repetitive in both its script and songs, but especially in its songs. Musicals such as ‘Les Misérables’ and ‘Hamilton’ also use a lot of repetition but they hide it very intricately and make it part of linking the story. ‘Blood Brothers’ is far more blatant with its repetition. It borders on almost too much, but just be prepared to hear lots about ‘Marilyn Monroe’ and ‘the devil having your number’. 

I don’t think I’ve seen a full theatre standing ovation for a very long time.

As I mentioned briefly, there are no children in this cast, it is all adults. This means for the majority of the show, we do see adults fooling around as juveniles on stage. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, its just not everybody’s thing. This cast seems to be particularly good at finding the line of making their performances not too jarring to watch. I also mentioned that a lot of the language and story themes are very dated. This comes in the form of certain jokes that are used, or even pieces of physical comedy/harm. I can understand that in the day, these would have been totally acceptable but times have changed. As well as being greeted by a laugh, a lot of them were also greeted with what I can only describe as a moment of cringe. Unfortunately, with the story being set when it is and where it is, I don’t see how these could really be changed and just removing them would leave a hole. With the recent theatre news surrounding trigger warnings, I think it also right to note that this is a musical that 100% should have trigger warnings! There are so many things in this musical that had me thinking, “This would not run in a new musical”. 

As for the pace of the show, the first act did begin to drag. It seemed as if stuff was happening but we weren’t really going anywhere, both physically and within the story. I don’t think this was helped by the permanent side housing that was always in view. I’m happy to say that the second act had a much better pace, with the story moving along and actually going somewhere as well. ‘Blood Brothers’ is a musical with an incredibly well written story and you can see why it has won the awards it has. It is very dated and of it’s time now, but I think if you were to change it – it would never be the same. This is what it is and it’s proud of that. It’s a musical that leaves you literally standing on your feet, I don’t think I’ve seen a full theatre standing ovation for a very long time – the perfect proof for the “Standing Ovation Musical”. ‘Blood Brothers’ is a semi-modern musical that’s now a certified classic, but this doesn’t mean it’s perfect and it does have it’s flaws. These flaws could be a major deterrent for a lot of people but I still think that if you can contextualise these, it’s definitely worth a watch. ‘Blood Brothers’ is showing at Mayflower theatre until 2nd March before continuing on its UK tour and I wish all of the cast and crew the best of luck going forwards.