REVIEW: Blood Brothers at the Millennium Forum - family, friendships and ties that bind us
Full disclosure – I've lost count of how many times I've seen the musical Blood Brothers.
What is it about the Willy Russell musical that keeps me and THOUSANDS of fans coming back time after time after time?
What is it about this musical that saw it running in London's West End for an amazing 21 years, more than 10,000 performances - only one of three shows to have achieved this incredible run record?
What is it about the story of working class penniless Mrs Johnstone who gives birth to twin boys and has to give one away, a story that could be straight out of Greek myth?
I went along to the opening night of the latest touring production in the Millennium Forum on Tuesday night to try to work out the magical formula.
Blood Brothers starts at the end of the story - a clever theatrical device which allows the audience to meet all the characters in the opening scene as the haunting melody sets the scene for what is about to unfold.
The Narrator, played by Kristofer Harding, opens with the iconic:
"So did y'hear the story of the Johnstone twins?
As like each other as two new pins
Of one womb born on the self same day
How one was kept and one given away"
From there, the action sets off at breakneck pace unfolding the lived experience of Mrs Johnstone, played by Ireland’s own musical theatre legend, Rebecca Storm who reprises the role she first played in 1984.
Abandoned by her no-good husband to raise a gaggle of children alone, Mrs Johnstone takes a cleaning job with Mrs Lyons played Laura Harrison who is fresh from alternating the role of Elphaba in Wicked and covering Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard in London.
Laura brought pathos and foreboding to the role while her singing was top notch - as one would expect from someone with that West End pedigree.
Central, of course, to the whole story are the separated-at-birth twins Mickey Johnstone and Eddie Lyons played by Sean Jones and Joe Sleight. This partnership was the highlight of the show bringing comedy, heartbreak, teenage angst and class rivalries to their performances, all based in the deep DNA connection which linked the two siblings.
Indeed, during Sean Jones' heartbreaking portrayal of Mickey's descent into sedative-induced depression and alienation from his wife, Linda (Gemma Brodrick), the Forum was utterly silent.
Other cracking performances from Michael Gillett as Sammy and Tim Churchill as Mr Lyons were backed up by the lively ensemble who switch from encapsulating playmates, to judges, to milkmen, to bus conductors, to cinema-goers in the blink of an eye.
Once the story comes full circle and the ending returns to the beginning, there wasn't a dry eye in the house for the iconic Tell Me It's Not True - with the Forum audience on its feet before the final note was even sung.
So what's the secret to the enduring success of Blood Brothers? Family and friendship and the ties that bind us.
Blood Brothers performs at the Millennium Forum until February 21. Tickets are now available from the box office. Telephone 71 264455 (option 1) or visit millenniumforum.co.uk for bookings.