Review: Blood Brothers at The Orchard Theatre

Blood Brothers is one of those shows that I have known about for a long time but never managed to get around to actually seeing. Luckily, I was offered the chance to come along and review the opening night of Blood Brothers at The Orchard Theatre in Dartford.

Written by Willy Russell, Blood Brothers is the tragic story of Mickey and Edward, two fraternal twins separated at birth due to their biological mother’s hardships. One twin, Edward, goes to live with a wealthy family whereas Mickey stays with his mother.

The twins are brought together again at the age of 7 through an unlikely friendship when well to do Edward sneaks off to the ‘bad part of town’ and meets Mickey. The two do not know they are related because both Mothers hold superstitious beliefs that dictate they should never discover each other or they would both die.

When Edward’s Mother grows steadily more and more anxious about the boys learning who they really are she moves her family away. Unbeknown to her, Mickey’s mother also relocates and their lives continue to be tangled.

Despite their friendship – self-proclaimed ‘blood brothers’ – Edward’s privileged life and Mickey’s poverty-stricken existence begins to be a burden and their friendship begins to be damaged. The twins are eventually forced to deal with the harsh realities of class consciousness, with Edward leaving to attend University, whereas Mickey gets sucked into his older brother’s life of crime.

When Edward comes home for the holidays he discovers that Mickey has married their childhood friend, Linda, who Edward also has feelings for. When Mickey is found guilty of being an accessory to a murder committed by his older brother, Linda finds comfort in the arms of Edward.

Having been put on medication in prison, an unstable now-released Mickey soon hears of this and decides to take desperate action against his twin, which ultimately exposes their true identities in a dramatic and tragic ending.

My favourite character was Mrs Johnstone, performed by Lyn Paul, who has returned to the role having first played her in 1997 and on numerous tours, Lyn played Mrs Johnstone in the final West End performances at the Phoenix Theatre in 2012.

Lyn Paul portrayed a young mother, who is deserted by her husband and left to her own devices to provide for seven hungry children, who despite being desperate enough to give away one of her twins was full of love and hope for the future.

The memorable score includes A Bright New Day, Marilyn Monroe and the emotionally charged hit Tell Me It’s Not True which were performed both by talented singers and the live musicians which really brought the story to life.

As well as the music I enjoyed the use of the set which cleverly incorporated height, which the narrator (who I found particularly creepy) used to full extent wandering around in the background, as well as depicting both the poorer and better off areas in the story.

Overall, despite the heart-breaking storyline, with excellent performances from the cast and band, I was captured from start to finish and would certainly recommend it as a great night out. I award it 5 out of 5 stars.

Tuesday 19 – Saturday 23 November 2019, 2:30PM, 7:30PM for more information see The Orchard Theatre’s Website.