REVIEW - Blood Brothers comes to The Castle in Wellingborough with a magnificent display of youthful wonder and shocking heartbreak

A full house at The Castle theatre in Wellingborough witnessed the life and times of Eddie and Mickey Johnstone this week in a captivating first performance of the beloved musical Blood Brothers.

Two bodies are stood over at the opening of the Willy Russell-created production before the show flashes back to the cobbled streets of Liverpool in the 1960s.

The story is a tale about two boys who are poles apart, but connected by a fateful similarity. Eddie and Mickey are the sons of the humble Mrs Johnstone, who gives one away at birth as she cannot care for them both.

Eddie is instead raised by Mrs Lyons, a wealthy woman who is unable to conceive for herself.

In the years that follow, the scene is set for the two boys to become firm friends, and the sharp production value effortlessly captures the setting with simple, but effective transitions doing well to make the story feel seamless.

Cheeky humour is weaved into moments of genuine emotion and the comedic timing is sublime, with something to love for people of all persuasions.

Eddie and Mickey’s unlikely friendship is wonderfully balanced by Joe Sleight and Sean Jones respectively, and their energetic performances perfectly capture the innocence and wonderment of youth.

Each brother is enamoured by how the the other half lives. The sweet but subtly melancholic ‘Long Sunday Afternoon/My Friend’ gives the audience a comprehensive account of their whirlwind friendship.

However, once the curtain is raised after the intermission their roles become significantly more serious, swapping childish antics for something more dramatic as the sign of the times takes its toll. What was a gleeful, yet honest story about two kids growing up on other sides of the class divide quickly becomes a heavy drama that explores themes of mental health and obsession.

The cast capture the complexities of the characters with relative ease, and the narrator pops up at regular intervals to reiterate that there is always a price to pay for deception. No clearer is this than in the dense, theatrical ‘The Devil's Got Your Number’.

The stand-out performer is Niki Colwell Evans as Mrs Johnstone, who does a masterful job of embodying a friendly, but hopeless housewife while also displaying the inner turmoil the character feels for separating the boys at birth.

Blood Brothers is eventful, fun, dramatic and, at times, truly tragic. It’s a profoundly human tale, and while its ‘musical’ status may imply it’s a whimsical experience throughout, its impressive depth is evident to anyone who gives the show a try.

What is commonly referred to as the ‘standing ovation musical’ did exactly that when a packed-out audience got on their feet to praise the performers for another job well done.

Bringing Blood Brothers to The Castle was a significant undertaking as Martin Cleverley, general manager of the venue, said: "Since Parkwood Leisure took on the management of the theatre in 2019 there has been the drive to grow as a venue, be noticed more in our local surroundings and open up many more opportunities for the local community and our customers.

"This is the start of a new dawn for The Castle Theatre.”

Tickets start at £35, and are available at The Castle’s website.