Blood Brothers

 Curve, Leicester

27^th October, 2026

“It was one day in October…”

The thing about long-running musicals, like Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers (1983), is that they’re informed by decades of their own performance history. Bob Tomson and Bill Kenwright’s production, now on tour playing at Leicester’s Curve, has been doing the rounds for 40 years including a 25-year West End run and on Broadway in the early 90s. Much of the current cast have played a significant part in that history. As Mrs Johnstone, the mother who gives up one of her twins to watch them grow up on different sides of the track, I last saw Vivienne Carlyle in the role 14 years ago (to the day!) playing her last performance at the Phoenix Theatre (she then played Mrs Lyons for the run’s final fortnight). As the twin she keeps, Mickey, I’ve seen Sean Jones countless times and his relationship with the show probably goes back 30 years. It’s quite possible he’s literally played Mickey more times than some audience members have had hot dinners. And currently in the role of Policeman/Teacher, Alex Harland has been with the show on and off since it was playing at the Albery Theatre (now Noel Coward Theatre)! There are cast members here who have worked with icons of the show, indeed who have become iconic cast members themselves. Their performances will inform the next generation’s cast members and so on. I’ve seen Blood Brothers around 40 times, and I could see it 40 times more, but one of the joys is seeing the reactions of audience members around you who are seeing it for the first time. It’s important for them, especially, that the show is kept fresh. It’s always someone’s first time.

Kenwright passed away in 2023, but thanks to Tomson and the work of Resident Director Tim Churchill, the show is in excellent shape. Carlyle brings the show together: her Mrs Johnstone is feisty, funny and has a huge amount of warmth and softness in her voice (especially in ‘Easy Terms’) whilst being able to belt the big notes (‘Light Romance’, ‘Tell Me It’s Not True’). Richard Munday’s omnipresent narrator is up there with the likes of Warwick Evans and Keith Burns. His interpretation strikes a right balance between menace and being the omniscient everyman who almost reaches out to characters to try and change their path but never does. Vocally, he’s impressive and the several reprises of ‘Shoes Upon the Table’ are a pleasure to watch. Sean Jones’ transformation from a funny 7 (nearly 8) year old to a depressed man who’s aged too quickly never fails to grip an audience. But some of his earlier scenes with Eddie (Joe Sleight) don’t quite reach the comedic heights I’ve seen before – they can lift the roof off some nights. But this is where Jones’ experience comes to the fore. He’s a master of knowing how to respond in the moment and which jokes to play up for an audience. A quiet Tuesday night in Leicester might get a different response to a midweek school performance, and Jones knows how to play off his fellow actors and the audience to remain authentic in his approach. Sleight makes for a strong Eddie, the boy who has an upper-middle class upbringing, and impressively lowers the pitch of his voice as the show progresses. Elevating the scenes between Mickey and Eddie are newer cast members Beth Danher as the girl in the middle of the pair, Linda, and Michael Gillette as older brother Sammy. They find new rhythms to the text and are a part of what keeps the production fresh.

And what a text it is. Russell moves the plot along at a pace, weaving themes such as class and superstition via various dramatic techniques like monologues and repeated motifs which highlight the difference between childhood play and the harsh realities of adulthood. It’s rare for a playwright to write the music, book and lyrics for a musical but Russell’s achievements here have made all the songs well-known favourites. It’s the strength of his songwriting skills and the emotion of his story which brings audiences back time and time again. The music here is brilliantly realised by Musical Director Matt Malone (with some beautiful new arrangements in the Overture) alongside Ben Payne, James Barber, Glenn Muscroft, Jon Hooper, Richard Wimpenny and Steve Peneycad.

40 years ago, Tomson and Kenwright had a year to hone their production on tour before taking it into the West End with Kiki Dee. That work paid off and the production runs like clockwork, driving towards the inevitable tragic end. There are some fine bits of direction and theatrical images created, from memorable moments such as the iconic building of ‘Tell Me It’s Not True’, to the little comic bit of choreography in ‘Bright New Day’ featuring the ensemble. They know how to people a stage, get the most from a cast and make it endure for 40 years. Here’s to the next 40.

Blood Brothers plays at Curve, Leicester until 31^st October. For more information, please visit https://www.kenwright.com/productions/blood-brothers-uk-tour/

The cast of Blood Brothers. Credit: Jack Merriman