Blood Brothers - Garrick Theatre - 21/06/09 by Julia Taylor

It is debatable whether Willy Russell’s ‘Blood Brothers’ would ever have been performed as a play, let alone, a musical, had it not been commissioned by the Merseyside Young People’s Theatre Company almost thirty years ago.

This makes the play an ideal choice for the members of the Garrick Academy of Performing Arts. The musical version has yet to be released for amateurs though one original song “Marilyn Monroe” is included.

It is well performed by Megan Royle as Mrs Johnstone. Additional music is written and arranged by Dean Sumner. Most people know the story of twins, separated at birth, who are reared by two very different families. Their real mother, Mrs. Johnstone, gives away Eddie to her rich employer when she becomes the single parent of a large family. He goes on to public school, University and a top job.

His twin, Mickey, grows up in a rough, graffiti-strewn neighbourhood with little education and a dead end job. Quite unwittingly, the pair meet and become “blood brothers”. It is hard to believe that nobody in the cast is over 18 and some as young as 15. Megan plays Mrs Johnstone as a woman who loves all of her offspring equally, including Eddie. She doesn’t have the wherewithal to support them yet tries to keep them out of trouble. It’s not easy for a youngster to portray a mature woman but Megan gets it just right and she speaks with an authentic Liverpool accent, too.

Lizzie Car as the vindictive Mrs Lyons overcomes the same obstacle equally well. .Oliver Marsh and Sam Steiner who play Mickey and Eddie give there all to put over the essence of their characters, especially at the tragic end.

I was impressed with the way they played the twins at seven, 14, 18 and grown up, changing their mannerisms but never their personalities. The other key character is Linda, a friend of both boys with whom both fall in love. She is the link that binds them together. I like the way Claire O’Brien in that role, leads them on especially during their awkward adolescent years.

Under the imaginative direction of Dean Sumner and John Keen, the part of the narrator is dispensed with and replaced by an unaccompanied singing group who also take on minor roles and become props such as chairs when necessary.

I was amazed at the quality of this production and taken aback when it almost moved me to tears.