Blood Brothers – Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield

Book, Music and Lyrics: Willy Russell

Directors: Bob Tomson and Bill Kenwright

At the end of his most famous love story, William Shakespeare asks “For ever was there a story of more woe, than this of Juliet and her Romeo?”. Well, clearly Shakespeare never saw Blood Brothers.

Set in Liverpool between roughly the 1950s and the 1980s, Blood Brothers presents the audience with a challenging question: “And do we blame superstition for what came to pass? Or is it what we the English have come to know as class?” Is the story one of nature vs nurture, fate vs free will or affluence vs poverty? Two twin brothers (Mickey Johnstone, played by Sean Jones, and Eddie Lyons played by Joe Sleight) are separated at birth, Mickey staying with his birth mother, Mrs Johnstone (Niki Colwell Evans) to grow up in a council house with all the disadvantages of the era; and Eddie taken by the well off Mrs Lyons (Paula Tappenden), destined for boarding school, Cambridge and the town counsel. Despite the best efforts of the mothers, the pair meet as children, and the audience see them grow and continue to interact from age 7 into their mid-20s, all under the watchful, portentous gaze of a slightly supernatural Narrator (Richard Munday).

Blood Brothers tells you how it ends in the very first scene, a bit like the aforementioned Romeo and Juliet, and – spoiler – it’s equally as tragic. So you know it does not end well. But the joyful innocence of the first two thirds, the beautiful music, and wonderfully evocative set pieces lull you into a false sense of security. Jones is perfectly cast as Eddie, from his manic 7 year old energy, which has the audience in gales of laughter, through to his beaten down adult in the dole queue. Sleight presents a lovely naivety throughout, an obliviousness that marks him for doom. Teaming up with fellow council estate kid Linda (Olivia Sloyan, who has an aura of Sarah Silverman about her, especially as a child) the tangled web of the story really comes alive. Colwell Evans is also a perfect casting as Mrs Johnstone, her voice sending shivers through the audience, especially during songs Easy Terms, Light Romance and closing number Tell Me It’s Not True. Bring tissues – she makes sure you’ll need them.

This opening night production did have some sound hiccups, with mics dropping out occasionally (and surely, they’ve made a radio mic that isn’t as obvious when worn against the forehead by now?) but hopefully these can be sorted for the rest of the run as it the only thing that pulls the audience out of fully believing they are on a council estate fifty years ago. Designer Andy Walmsley has done an excellent job with the set to achieve this emersion, and directors Bob Tomson and Bill Kenwright have coached slick, evocative performances from their actors. The script by Willy Russell is a schoolroom staple, having so much to say about class, wealth and privilege, with commentary still unfortunately relevant today. The demonisation of mental health medication is slightly uncomfortable, but accurate to the time at least, and it’s never been clear why the Narrator is so harsh about Mrs Johnstone’s choice, calling her “so cruel there’s a stone in the place of her heart” when she really does seem to be in an impossible situation. But that’s really the point isn’t it, and by the end the audience walk out, tear stained and contemplative, having endured the bleakest ending of any musical possibly ever written, asking who really is to blame. A question which, sadly, doesn’t seem to yet have an answer.

Runs until Saturday 29 April 2023.