Blood Brothers at the Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield Review
Blood Brothers
Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield
13-24 January 2015
Reviewed by Ella Richardson
I have been to the Lyceum Theatre in Sheffield a couple of times and always had a lovely time as it’s such a pretty and intimate theatre, we had some great seats right in the middle of the theatre so we could see all the action, it’s definitely the place to come to watch shows.
I have seen Blood brothers before about 20 years ago so it was lovely to go and watch it with fresh eyes. The starting scene was amazing and so powerful, with dramatic music from the unforgettable ‘tell me it’s not true’ in a dramatic style and red lighting. Then I heard an amazing voice coming from the stage which was that of Mrs Johnstone played by Maureen Nolan, she blew me away with her amazing portrayal of the character, you felt every word and it was pitch perfect. I don’t think I have ever felt so drawn to a character and sucked into their world as I was with Mrs Johnstone. The opening scenes were so dramatic and full on so it was a great balance when the scenes were broken with the start of the Johnstone twins journey from being boys with the amazingly funny Sean Jones playing Mickey, he had the whole audience in stitches and really captured the essence of a young boy, all the cast were amazing at drawing you into school play time, I really felt every single character got into the role and the chemistry between Sean and Joel Benedict who played Eddie Johnstone is amazing and so believable they completely gel and the relationship is believable. And without a doubt the star of the show Mrs Johnstone kept us gripped throughout the show and I couldn’t wait for her to sing again.
The second half started with a lovely sunny positive scene and the Johnstone twins had grown up a bit more, Sean Jones particularly gave a good performance and showed the aging process exceptionally well. The only criticism I would have of the show is with the narrator played by Marti Pellow, when singing as part of the role of the narrator it really works and flows with the story but I feel he struggled with the Liverpudlian accent and sometimes was hard to understand it would of been much better just to do it in his natural accent. His portrayal and the eeriness of his presence was amazing but that one thing let it down and that tweak would of improved the show for me BUT all in all a fabulous production and a fabulous end, with high emotion and obviously quite genuine feeling from all the cast in the last scene so much so they seemed so welled up during the applause and bows, it obviously means a lot to them.
Fabulous night out and worth every penny!
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets cost from £18 to £32 (plus £1.50 transaction fee).
Blood Brothers is at the Lyceum Theatre in Sheffield until 24 January 2015. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 0114 249 6000.
Sheffield Theatres, 55 Norfolk Street, Sheffield, S1 1DA | Box Office 0114 249 6000
