Blood Brothers has been described as ‘the standing ovation musical’, and this was certainly true for the performance at the Ipswich Regent Theatre on Tuesday night.
The whole audience were on their feet, as actress Sarah Jane Buckley belted out the final words to ‘Tell Me It’s Not True’.
Although huge fans of musical theatre, my friend and I knew very little about Blood Brothers before we attended the first showing of the production’s five-day Ipswich run.
By the end of it, we had both shed a few tears.
The story begins in Liverpool in the 1960s, with young mother Mrs Johnstone (who was played by Buckley on Tuesday, but will also be played by Niki Colwell Evans of X Factor fame) struggling to raise her seven children alone, after being deserted by the husband who, she tells us wistfully, used to say she looked like Marilyn Monroe.
To make ends meet, Mrs Johnstone takes a job as a housekeeper for the wealthy but childless Mr and Mrs Lyons.
However, Mrs Johnstone’s world soon comes crashing down around her when she discovers she is pregnant yet again – and this time with twins.
In a moment of weakness and desperation, she enters a secret pact with Mrs Lyons, and the story unfolds as the twin boys grow up leading very different lives.
The actors were able to seamlessly blend the show’s wry comedy with its poignant, emotionally charged moments.
For me, the standout performance came from Sean Jones in the role of Mickey Johnstone.
Jones took Mickey from a cheeky seven-year-old boy to an awkward teenager too shy to talk to girls, and finally to a haunted and defeated man at the show’s climax.
I was curious to see how Jones would pull off portraying a young child, a difficult feat for any grown adult.
However, he soon had the audience in the palm of his hand with high-pitched Scouse accent and bouncy physical comedy.
Even a slight technical hitch when his microphone had to be corrected did not put a dent in Jones’ performance. Indeed, it was to cheers and applause that he bounded back on-stage minutes later, asking brightly, “Can you hear me now?” before launching into the iconic monologue, “I wish I was our Sammy...”
The narrator, too, was a powerful presence on stage. Danny Whitehead (who some will recognised from his role as Mick in the BBC’s Ralph and Katie) gave the show an eerie feel, stalking about the stage as he warned the characters “The devil’s got your number” (Shoes Upon the Table).
His soaring vocals were incredible, lifting the hairs on the back of your neck.
The second half of the show is undeniably darker, as the action reaches the 1980s and the recession hits Merseyside particularly hard.
There were moments in the musical which were not unlike Billy Elliot, with many characters struggling to get by and surviving on dole payouts. This made the first half seem all the more bittersweet, for it truly felt that we had watched the three characters of Mickey, Eddie Lyons and their friend, Linda, grow up and lose the innocence and optimism of childhood right before our eyes.
By the end of the show, my friend and I were emotionally wrung out – and wondering if we’d be able to scoop tickets to see it all over again.
Blood Brothers will be shown at the Ipswich Regent Theatre until Saturday, September 23.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here