Review of Blood Brothers at Perth Concert Hall

Jul 15 2011 by Alison Anderson, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

FOUR days after enjoying the first night of Blood Brothers in Perth Concert Hall, the memorable songs from this musical continue to ring in my head.

Willy Russell’s heart-rending yet entertaining musical and social commentary about twins separated at birth, growing up on different sides of the class barrier yet destined to remain blood brothers, and their mother’s grief, marks what could be the beginning of a new era at the acclaimed Concert Hall. With an impressive track record of bringing world-class music to Perth, the first full-scale musical at the venue is a resounding success.

Blood Brothers is a fast-moving and slick production, performed by a talented and hard-working cast of 14, eight musicians and a behind-the-scenes team who successfully tackle the challenge of converting the concert hall into an intimate theatre setting.

Willy Russell’s award-winning epic shows no sign of losing its impact 28 years after its debut, and this reviewer found a second Blood Brothers’ experience (I saw it in Edinburgh a few years ago) just as entertaining and moving as first time around.

Bill Kenwright’s production of Blood Brothers is almost constantly on tour, as well as continuing to draw in West End audiences, and the cast is constantly changing. This tour comes with an exceptionally talented ensemble, each member capturing the essence of the characters they play and singing their hearts out to Russell’s masterful musical score.

Niki Evans plays the iconic Mrs Johnstone, the single mother-of-many whose best efforts to do the best for her brood are thwarted by the hand of fate. Niki plays the part with utter conviction balanced with a natural feel for Mrs Johnstone. If at times her Liverpudlian accent is a little weak there is no doubting her ability to sing a good song and engage with her audience.

We see the twins Mickey and Eddie grow from nearly eight-year-olds to tragically short-lived adulthood, and in Sean Jones and Chris Carswell we have two actors who are a joy to watch through their childhood capers, teenage angst and, for Mickey (Sean) his dive into the deep depression which leads to his and his twin’s death.

One of the show’s stand-out singing performances comes from Sean, plus superb orchestration, with Long Sunday Afternoon – if Sean ever gives up acting he surely has a future as a Blues singer.

And if ever there was an actor able to send the chills down the spine it’s Craig Price as the omni-present narrator – his is an outstanding performance in this pivotal role.

Alongside Mrs Johnstone, the other female characters immersed in the tragic tale of Mickey and Eddie are the childless Mrs Lyons who cajoles Mrs J into handing over one of her twins, and local girl Linda, both played by talented actresses: Tracey Spencer as Mrs Lyons and Kelly-Anne Gower as Linda.

Typifying the slickness of production and versatility of cast is Graham Martin’s split-second morph from public school master to a scruffy, world-weary inner-city teacher.

Indeed everyone on stage, in the orchestra pit and on lighting deserved their opening night standing ovation. The only blight of the night was the concert hall air conditioning which gave an unwelcome background noise to some of the quieter moments of this emotion-charged musical.

There are just three more chances to see Blood Brothers in Perth Concert Hall – tonight and tomorrow at 7.30pm and a 2.30pm matinee tomorrow.

Alison Anderson