Blood Brothers

Oswaldtwistle Players kindly invited me to review their production of Willy Russell’s ‘Blood Brothers,’ The Play Version. From start to finish the audience were captivated. The cast and crew presented an emotional rollercoaster of a show, with amazing acting throughout. Having never seen this show, and not one for spoilers beforehand, I honestly did not know what to expect. By the finale I was sobbing, it was a fabulous show with a terribly sad ending. Mrs Johnstone, a single working mother in 1960’s Liverpool discovers she is pregnant with twins. Having five children already she reluctantly sells one of her newborns to an affluent family in the hope that he will have a better life than she can provide. Despite the two mothers trying to keep the boys apart they meet as children and become best friends and blood brothers. As they grow, they meet and are separated repeatedly until social pressures, class divisions and jealousy finally force them apart, ending in tragedy.

Director Lyndsay Pilkington created a slick, poignant show. Her cast were all strong players, her crew synchronised. Accrington Town Hall, the venue for this production, has a small stage with no built-in wings, Lyndsay artfully used the stage and the round, allowing the actors to move freely. The round was blacked out either side of the stage, creating exits and entrances for the cast to use. These were then dressed as the family homes, washing adorned the Johnstone house to the left of the stage, whilst a coat stand stood to the right and was used by the Lyons family. A door frame placed either side on stage indicated the inside of each family home with projections for the respective interiors. A table and chair stood centre stage; a small circular table sat in the round; these were frequently moved by cast and crew as the scenes played out. This simplicity worked exceptionally well and was brought together with the use of various projections. Daniel Heard and Cian Bamford provided both Projections and Sound to pronounced effect. The projections perfectly represented the scenes they supported, the audience saw green rolling hills, council offices and cobbled streets to name a few, they were all perfectly focused and clear. I particularly liked the graphics of the years rolling by, with accompanying soundtracks, used to cover scene or costume changes. The stage crew were stealthy, unobtrusive, and slick. Moving whilst the audience’s attention was drawn elsewhere. Sound by was clear, with no noticeable gremlins. The sound effects used when the mothers were each dealing with their guilt: the vocals overpowered by inner thoughts, was great.  The disjointed nursery rhyme sounded fabulous but uncomfortable.

The lighting by Alan Webster was fantastic, reds, and blues lit the open stage as the audience took to their seats. The red theme carried over to the Narrator’s scenes, lighting the background as he himself was lit to cast shadow, his lighting was sinister and foreboding. The spotlights remained tight; the whole show looked great, with many effects throughout. Props, supplied by Joyce Teasdale, Jonathan Mallinson and Maria FitzPatrick were minimal but effective. Costumes supplied by the cast and Pendle Hippodrome Theatre and overseen by Joyce Teasdale were of the era, I particularly liked the pointed difference in styles between the two families. Stage Manager, Andrew Batt kept all departments running together smoothly, his crew always worked as one.

Playing the role of Mickey Johnstone, the twin raised in poverty was Matthew Whalley. Matthew gave a consistently powerful performance. His Liverpudlian accent was splendid. We saw his character change as time and circumstance weighed him down. His transformation from child to awkward teenager and then into a bitter, self loathing adult was wonderful to watch. A fantastic performance from Matthew.

Ryan Baron played the role of Edward Lyons. Ryan was wonderful as the overly mothered posh child. His reaction in the scene where the boys became blood brothers, a high-pitched scream, made the audience laugh aloud. His demeanour and mannerisms were carried from childhood into adulthood, solidifying his performance. His accent was well spoken, in contrast to the harsh Liverpudlian sounds, his dialogue strong: an impressive performance from Ryan.

Louise Parrish gave a fantastic performance as Mrs Johnstone. A mother of five, abandoned for a younger woman, forced to sell one of her unborn twins to survive. The audience could see the pain and anguish in Louise’s facial expressions. Her accent was fantastic throughout, her dialogue strong.  When she sang ‘Tell Me it’s Not True,’ it was heartbreaking. The sheer amount of emotion put into that song had more than a few members of the audience in tears, I’m not ashamed to say I shed a few tears myself. I thought Louise was superb in this role.

The role of Mrs Lyons was played by Samantha Payne. Samantha was great as the overbearing, neurotic mother of Edward. Her downward spiral could be seen early on as the guilt ate away at her. She was a strong manipulative woman at the start and as the play developed, she began to unravel before the audience’s eyes. The scene where she sat alone as her inner voices drove her to the edge was deliberately hard to watch. The last act where she stumbled on in her dressing gown and slippers to deliver the final gun shot was devastating. Samantha delivered an excellent performance.

Scarlet Dickinson was impressive as Linda. Best friend to Mickey as a child, flirting with him outrageously as a teen before finally falling pregnant and becoming his wife. I thought Scarlett was wonderful in this role, lively, energetic, and fun as a child, confident and delightfully tormenting as a teen before becoming a tired overworked housewife herself. Scarlett delivered her role with passion and gave a robust performance throughout.

Playing the role of Narrator was Paul Moores. I thought Paul was astoundingly good. He delivered his lines with fervour; his Scouse accent was harsh and unrelenting. He was sinister, portending doom as he moved the story forward, warning the audience that it would not end well. Paul had huge pieces of rhyming dialogue which he delivered with precision timing, and great projection. A fascinating performance.

John Dewhurst played multiple cameo roles as Mr Johnstone, a Policeman, a Gynaecologist, and a Milkman. Although each role was small, John brought a distinctive character to each, often making the audience chuckle. John was confident, his dialogue and accents clear. Great cameo acting from John.

I throughly enjoyed ‘Blood Brothers.’ It was a well thought out production all round. I would like to thank Oswaldtwistle Players for inviting me to review their show and look forward to many more productions from them in the future.

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