Theatre / Theatre Royal Bath
Review: Blood Brothers, Theatre Royal Bath – ‘people leapt to their feet’
For a few years in the 1990s, Willy Russell’s plays were being performed more often than any of the works of Shakespeare. It’s not hard to see why – they both tap into the same fundamental exploration of humanity and destiny, as driven by fortune and social position.
Blood Brothers is a perfect example of a story which strikes at the soul of anyone who has experienced love, fear, envy, hope and disappointment. By which I mean all of us.
Down-at-heel Mrs Johnstone is deserted by her husband and left to provide for their seven children. She takes a job as a cleaner in a posh house owned by a couple who have been trying in vain to start a family, and finds herself making a dangerous pact with her employer. She offers up one of her unborn twins, in the hope that it will have a better life than the one she could provide.
is needed now More than ever
Sean Jones as Mickey with the cast of Blood Brothers – photo: Jack Merriman
But we know from our childhood tales of myth and legend that such pacts are doomed to failure. The end of this story is shown to us right at the start – the ominous soundtrack and portentous narrator are simply vehicles to stop us running away with our hopes for the twins when we watch them as playful childhood friends…
Willy Russell said he didn’t want to write a dry, ‘nature versus nurture’ debate and in keeping with the fashion of the age in which he was most creative, the show is a play with songs rather than a musical.
There are no showstopping numbers, but no-one who has seen it forgets the themes. You can even (just) forgive the increasingly tortuous Marilyn Monroe analogies, if you set your mind to it.
Niki Evans has been playing Mrs Johnstone to great acclaim for over 10 years – she’s so relaxed and natural as the decent, loving mother that her epic moments of tragedy come with real heft.
Niki Evans as Mrs Johnstone and Sean Jones as Mickey Johnstone in Blood Brothers – photo: Jack Merriman
And Sean Jones as Mickey gives his trajectory from innocence to hopelessness a saddening credibility. Carly Burns, as the pubescent love interest for both brothers, grows up before our eyes and makes the final – Shakespearean – ending, properly tragic.
This production – directed by Bob Thomson and Bill Kenwright – very wisely sticks to tradition. It doesn’t go out of its way to surprise us or offer a contemporary insight.
It clearly stays in the 1980s politically and musically, and uses set and lighting design which doesn’t push any boundaries. If it ain’t broke, and all that…
The packed house I sat in knew what it wanted and was delivered it in spades. People leapt to their feet, cheered and left the theatre very happy. There’s nothing wrong with that.
Niki Evans as Mrs Johnstone and Nick Wilkes as Policeman and Teacher with the cast of Blood Brothers – photo: Jack Merriman
Blood Brothers is at Theatre Royal Bath on March 8-12 on 7.30pm, with matinee shows on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday at 2.30pm. Tickets are available at www.theatreroyal.org.uk.
Main photo: Jack Merriman
Read more: Review: Animal Farm, Theatre Royal Bath – ‘It may stay with you for a lifetime’
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