Popular musical returns to Northampton

Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers has scooped several awards since its debut in 1983. This latest production comes to the Royal & Derngate from Monday to Saturday November 6 to 11.This epic tale of Liverpool life ran in London’s West End for 24 years, exceeding 10,000 performances, one of onlythree musicals ever to achieve that milestone.It tells the captivating and moving story of twin boys separated at birth, only to be reunited by a twist of fate and a mother’s haunting secret. The memorable score includes A Bright New Day, Marilyn Monroe and the emotionally charged hit Tell Me It’s Not True.And playing Mrs Johnstone is Lyn Paul who is reprising the role having first performed in 1997. She played Mrs Johnstone in the final West End performances at the Phoenix Theatre in 2012. But it still does not stop her from getting nervous from reprising the role. Lyn said: “You know what, strangely enough, I was lying in bed the other night going through the opening song and Ireached one part, but for the life of me couldn’t remember the rest of it, and I had to get up and go downstairs to get the script and go through it. “At 4 o’clock in the morning, ridiculous! So it’s playing on my mind obviously.” Lyn also says that the skill in the writing was one of the reasons for oriignally saying yes to the show.She added: “Mrs J is just me. Everything that she’s going through I feel, theway Willy’s (Russell) written it is so easy to get over to an audience as it’s actually written as you would speak.“Sometimes, when people write a script, you look at it and think, well, that’s not how I would say it. “But this is so perfectly written and so easy, it just flows, and I just feel that Mrs J is me, so it makes it very easy to play.” Lyn rose to fame in the early 1970s as a member of the New Seekers, whose hits include I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing, the well-loved song adapted from a Coca-Cola advertising jingle. Musical theatre regular Dean Chisnall returns to the role of the Narrator. He has performed in a number of musicals. Sean Jones plays Mickey, a role he has performed in the West End and on tour. Tickets for the show are in limited supply and cost from £18.Tickets for the show can be booked by visiting www.royalandderngate.co.uk or call 01604 624811