Review: Blood Brothers [UK Tour]

Musical: Blood Brothers [UK Tour]
Venue: Grand Theatre, Leeds, UK
Date: 20th July 2011 at 14:30
Cast: Niki Evans (Mrs. Johnstone), Craig Price (Narrator), Sean Jones (Mickey), Chris Carswell (Eddie), Tracy Spencer (Mrs. Lyons), Kelly-Anne Gower (Linda), Daniel Taylor (Sammy) and Tim Churchill (Mr. Lyons)
Rating: ****1/2


Review:
Blood Brothers is one of West End's long-running musicals and I had my first experience with the show last year at its West End home at the Phoenix Theatre. That time I missed seeing X Factor's finalist Niki Evans in the role of Mrs. Johnstone and got an understudy instead (though her performance was nothing short of excellent). So this time as Blood Brothers starring Niki Evans came to Leeds, I couldn't resist myself from going again to see how good she could be in this highly demanding role. I need to be frank here that my first experience with Blood Brothers wasn't too good. I only knew a few songs and loose storyline. The outcome was I could hardly understand half of what the actors were saying because of the Liverpool accent and I didn't enjoy the music as much though I must admit that the final scene was really moving and excellently-done.

This time I came prepared having read the full script of the show and listening to the cast recording beforehand in order to make sure that I would be able to follow the story. And this production of Blood Brothers made me realize what a beautiful piece of theatre it truly is. The script was well-written and I really liked all the symbolisms and metaphors that they were making now that I could understand what was said. I must admit that the accent still got to me and I was still a bit confused by some scenes as to what they were saying especially with the "kids" but overall I understood a lot more of the story this time around. (Note: I wouldn't recommend the show to non-native speakers who are not used to Liverpool accent unless they educate themselves with the synopsis or read the scripts first because it will turn out to be a boring 3 hours of your life if you can't understand what they are saying.)

Niki Evans as Mrs. Johnstone
during "Easy Terms"

Blood Brothers tells the story of Mrs. Johnstone, a mother who bore twins but couldn't keep both of them so she gave one to her boss, Mrs. Lyons, who couldn't have a child. The twins were raised apart and Mrs. Johnstone, who was very superstitious, was forced to conceal the identity of the children due to a superstition that if the twins knew who they were, they would die immediately. The show followed the lives of the twins from the age of seven to their teenage years and to their adulthood until an unevitably tragic ending was presented to the audience.

The production was very identical to the ones in London. The scenes were beautifully and cleverly designed and I think I liked it better that they put the orchestra in the pit rather than visible to the audience on the stage like in London. I also loved how simple the show was in terms of telling the story using a narrator and a small ensemble playing several roles. I also adored the overall flow of the show that it allowed the audience to applause only twice and that was towards the end of each act. However, I still found the show to be somewhat dragging especially in the second act and though many songs have grown on me, some were still pretty mediocre and boring.

Niki Evans was a brilliant Mrs. Johnstone. She played the role in the more subtle way compared to Vivienne Carlyle whom I saw in London but it was very effective. She had the stage presence that could control the attention of the audience throughout the show and she totally nailed every song. Her "Easy Terms" was very moving and I didn't remember being this moving very early on in the show. She simply shone in every number that she did whether it's the numerous "Marilyn Monroe", "Light Romance" and the powerful "Tell Me It's Not True".

Mrs. Johnstone (Niki Evans) hugged Mickey (Stephen Palfreman whom I saw in London) 

Craig Price was our narrator and he was good but not as good as the other narrator I've seen. He didn't seem mysterious enough and the way he spoke, it was not strong and convincing enough as the narrator who "seemed to know" what was gonna happen. His singing was fine but his "Shoes upon the Table" could have been stronger emotionally and vocally. However, I found that his performance developed throughout the show and he did present a very powerful ending towards the end of the show.

Niki Evans and Craig Price as Mrs. Johnstone and the Narrator
during "Shoes upon the Table"

Sean Jones was an amazing Mickey. I remembered not liking how adults played the seven-year-old kids the first time I saw it because I felt that it was just weird. But Sean played it really well and it was really believable that I was actually believe that he was a kid. He also portrayed the different ages and states of mind of Mickey very well especially as the depressive adult Mickey.

Sean Jones as Mickey (seen here with Marti Webb)

Chris Carswell played Eddie. Now that I didn't like. He portrayed Eddie as such a girlish geeky boy (think Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory, he also looked like him!) and he couldn't seem to drop that personality even when he's grown up. I don't know. I don't feel that that was the kind of guy that Mickey would be jealous of and that Linda would fall for. He had some good and cute moments and all but I just didn't enjoy his performance at all.

Mickey and Eddie and their famous Blood Brothers handshake
(seen here with Sean Jones and Paul Davies)

Tracy Spencer was our Mrs. Lyons and though she was not as good as Rebekah Clifford (an understudy whom I saw in London), she was still bloody good. I totally bought it when she just broke down and turned mad after trying to kill Mrs. Johnstone. She had a lovely singing voice too as can be heard during "My Child" but I think it needed some working in terms of emotion.

Kelly-Anne Gower was a very very good Linda and the ways that she portrayed the girl Linda, the teenage Linda and the adult Linda were very effective and we totally believed that she was really going through those adolescent phases. Daniel Taylor and Tim Churchill as Sammy and Mr. Lyons were also very good.

Daniel Taylor and Sean Jones as Sammy and Mickey
during the robbery scene

(Front row) Daniel Taylor as Sammy, Sean Jones as Mickey
and Kelly-Anne Gower as Linda
during "Kids Game"

Since it was a Wednesday matinee performance, the audience was comprised of two groups of people, really old people and students. I was quite curious to find out how they would react to the show and I got my answer at the end of the show *SPOILER ALERT* where the twins died . It was supposed to be a dramatic moment but the kids were laughing probably because of the unexpected loud gunshots and how they both died at the same time and they couldn't stop laughing even when the narrator already went on to recite his signature line despite the many "shhhh!"s that was going on. It was annoying but I just blocked them out and tried really hard to focus on the show. *SPOILER ENDS*

Overall, I really enjoyed this production of Blood Brothers a lot. I don't think that there's any problem with the London ones that made me not like it but it was just that I was well-prepared for the show this time so I was able to absorb the emotions and the story better. So did most audience members, I had tears in my eyes and lumps in my throat at the finale which was a tragic but also powerful ending even though you know what was coming. You know it was good theatre when you could just cry and felt so happy about it being able to touch and move you. And that's a real proof of what a beautiful piece of theatre BLOOD BROTHERS really is. I wouldn't hesitate going to see it again if I have the chance and neither should you!

"Tell Me It's Not True"

MUSICAL NUMBERS
ACT ONE
Overture... Orchestra
Marilyn Monroe... Mrs. Johnstone
My Child... Mrs. Lyons and Mrs. Johnstone
Easy Terms... Mrs. Johnstone
Shoes upon the Table... Narrator
Easy Terms (Reprise)... Mrs. Johnstone
Kids Game... Sammy, Linda, Mickey and Ensemble
Shoes upon the Table (Reprise)... Narrator
Bright New Day (Preview)... Mrs. Johnstone
Long Sunday Afternoon/My Friend... Mickey and Eddie
Bright New Day... Mrs. Johnstone and Full Company


ACT TWO
Marilyn Monroe (Reprise)... Mrs. Johnstone
Shoes upon the Table (Reprise)... Narrator
That Guy... Mickey and Eddie
Shoes upon the Table (Reprise)... Narrator
I'm Not Saying a Word... Eddie
Miss Jones... Mr. Lyons, Miss Jones and Ensemble
Marilyn Monroe (Reprise)... Mrs. Johnstone
Light Romance... Mrs. Johnstone and Narrator
Shoes upon the Table (Reprise)/Madman... Narrator
Tell Me It's Not True... Mrs. Johnstone and Full Company