Sunday, September 23, 2012

Blood Brothers Review


Blood Brothers
Tour - The Mayflower Theatre, Southampton

This is the fifth time I have seen Blood Brothers, which should demonstrate show how much I like this musical. It was also a chance to find out how pop singer, Marti Pellow, would perform in musical theatre.

The musical opens on a crime scene. Two bodies are carried off whilst a grieving mother (Niki Evans) looks on. A narrator (Marti Pellow) stands forward and says "So, did you hear the story of the Johnstone twins". From here the audience learns the story of the two brothers, who were separated at birth and died as a consequence of their mother told them the truth. 

For the most part, this is a production I am not going to forget in a hurry. The musical is built on the premise that the ending is revealed at the beginning, so whilst the audience learn the story that leads up to this, they also need to connect with the main characters in order to fully empathize with the impending and heartbreaking tragedy. This was easily achieved because a number of the actors had performed in this musical a number of times.

Sean Jones was certainly the highlight of the production. He had played Mickey during the last few tours, and it is clear how far he has come since then. He was such a bundle of joy during Mickey's childhood that it is the first time I have heard him receive some "aw"s from the audience. He then brilliantly went through the rest of the character's life from innocence to hatred. Jorden Bird was playing Eddie for the first time and it did show, but with Sean he was able to show Eddie's relationship with Mickey wonderfully.

Nikki Evans was a superb as Mrs Johnstone. She was clear and did well in producing her strong willed, yet grief stricken character. Also returning were Olivia Sloyan and Daniel Taylor as the playful Linda and bullying Sammy. Marti Pellow however was not a very omni-present and threatening narrator, and he did struggle to hit the high notes. With other superior actors he did seem to disappeared into the background.

The touring set is very detailed, though personally I prefer the smaller set in London. This was minimalistic which could provoke one's imagination to run rife. It is such a shame that the London production is finishing and that the touring set would most likely be the favored version to use for any future productions. The music was still excellent though it was spoilt by an average sound system.

This musical will be greatly missed when it leaves the West End. With a mainly strong cast, this production proved how heartbreaking the musical can be. This should be seen at a low Top Price

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