Blood Brothers at The Lowry Review
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Blood Brothers
Lowry Theatre, Manchester
2-7 September 2013
Reviewed by Emma Bradley
This Willy Russell classic has played in the West End for the last 23 years to full houses and much acclaim. Bill Kenwright (the chairman of Everton football club, and a man with Liverpool in his blood) has produced this version of the play which holds true to the originally musical written by Willy. The show has recently ended a successful season at the Phoneix Theatre in the West End and a number of the touring cast were specifically selected to play the characters in these final shows.
The show is on tour from 2 September till 30 November, covering 11 venues across the country. The main characters are played by Maureen Nolan (Mrs Johnson), Warwick Evans (Narrator), Sean Jones (Mickey) and Mark Hutchinson (Eddie). Although we saw the opening night of the tour, the show passed off seamlessly.
The show is spell-binding from start to finish and really touches on the nature of the population of Liverpool , bringing out the close-knit friendly attitude of the city, whilst highlighting the class divisions that existed throughout the 1970s & 80s. The soundtrack, whilst not as famous as some of the larger productions, is familiar and the final number of “Tell me it’s not true” is enough to bring grown men to tears after such a tense and moving ending to the second act.
The story is easy to follow and the way that Mickey and Eddie are portrayed from earliest childhood to late teen years by one actor is very clever. The only negative was the volume of the music in the first act overpowered the singing, but this appeared to be resolved after the interval.
The show ended to a full standing ovation and 4 encores, with a good number of the audience and the cast in tears just showing the level of passion put into the acting. A very moving 2hr 15 minute performance which is well recommended.
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets cost from £24 – £36 (booking fees may apply).
For more information or to book your tickets to see Bllod Brothers at The Lowry click here.
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