Blood Brothers

I have seen the musical version of Blood Brothers on many occasions; as a big fan I was looking forward to my first review of the play version performed by Dryburn Theatre Workshop. The play recounts the story of fraternal twins Eddie and Mickey born into a working-class family and the dilemma when their mother makes one of the hardest decisions in her life and gives one of her twins away at birth. Following the separation, the boys are raised in totally different social environments, however life has a strange way of working out and the story shows how fate draws these two boys together with fatal consequences.

The story was wonderfully interpreted thanks to Michelle Coulson as Director,  who put her heart and soul into this iconic classic story written by Willy Russell. Michelle’s direction ensured that she brought out the best from an extremely talented and well-rehearsed team of actors, each cast member demonstrated their enthusiasm and commitment and followed Michelle’s vision which resulted in a truly remarkable and funny interpretation of this unforgettable story, the talent and atmosphere on the performance I attended overflowed into the audience who were absolutely enthralled by the production and the quality of the acting.

A very clever set featuring a terraced street supported by a good range of props helped distinguish the different scenes of the story and well done to the stage crew under the stage manager Paul Scott who ensured that this was coordinated seamlessly. Lighting and sound were provided by Hi Lights which was to a high standard as was the costumes which were authentic to the era provided by Alan Graham Costumes. Music throughout the play was supplied by backing tracks apart from the opening number “Marilyn Monroe” which was played by Brian Pennick. A big thank you to the front of house team who as always ensures that the audience and myself were well taken care of.

The story of Blood Brothers is told through the narrator and Lee Passmoor grasped this role with confidence, he controlled the stage each time he appeared and delivered the story line with a convincing Liverpudlian accent which was maintained throughout, an excellent performance from Lee which he executed effortlessly. At the centre of the plot was Frances Wood as Mrs Johnston, a what a performance from this young actress, she utilised all her skills and talent to portray this down trodden character and her performance was so powerful; capturing and delivering all the emotions that this character was feeling; an excellent and stand out performance from this young lady. Joseph Coulson and Alex Pickering had the difficult role of playing the characters Eddie and Mickey, these two young men certainly had me and the audience in stiches excellent performance and entertaining and by means no mean feat to play characters from age 7 (almost 8) to adulthood but they accomplished this remarkably delivering a first class performance, their stage presence was outstanding, capturing the comic element and the drama of each scene effortlessly and their accents were on the nail, I loved the interaction with the other characters especially Linda played by Lucy McCabe who portrayed their lifelong friend and later Mickey’s wife, a well-polished performance lovely stage presence both as a child and later as an adult, and I loved her cameo role as Marilyn Munroe. Playing the role of Mrs Lyons was Kirsty May who delivered a master class of emotional turmoil, great acting ability especially when she started to loose grip of the situation and the truth became revelled an incredibly powerful performance.

There were various cameo roles that supported the principals all of whom delivered excellent performances and enabled the story to unfold; Chris Coats delivered a confident performance as the gynaecologist, the milkman, factory worker and the Doctor, great stage presence and delivered each character uniquely. Pete Johnson delivered a striking policeman and factory worker, as did Karen Scott who delivered a confident performance as the housing officer and factory worker. Annette Morris wearing many wigs and disguises played the part of a child friend, housing officer and factory worker great supporting performance and finally Laura Masters who played a factory worker and ensemble in other scenes a thoroughly convincing performance.   

This was a great production from start to finish congratulation to Dryburn Theatrical Workshop for delivering an outstanding, moving and emotional performance and a great evening of pure entertainment. Looking forward to seeing your next production of Aladdin in January 2020.

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