Only a genius could create what is essentially a sad story of heartache, deceit, poverty, violence, snobbery, desertion and the most awful tragedy, but write it in such a way that it’s uproariously funny throughout.
Blood Brothers, written by Willy Russell, is at the Hull New Theatre this week and on Tuesday evening the venue was chock-a-block with theatregoers.
This multi-award winning production ran for more than 10,000 performances in London’s West End; no mean feat. And it’s no surprise to me, having seen a version of the show three times, that it’s known affectionately as the “standing ovation musical” – that description speaks for itself.
All the action takes place in both the well-off and poorer areas of the city of Liverpool, in the late 1950s, and the stage setting cleverly reflects this throughout.
The city in general is depicted on a huge backdrop showing the famous Royal Liver Building and surrounds, often at night. The houses in the run-down areas are shown only as front doors and windows, while those of the better-off folk have balconies. Simply but cleverly done.
At times huge panels dropped from above, creating a “posh” sitting room or a council chamber for instance.
Stage props – tables, chairs et al – were unobtrusively booled on and off. A funfair was very cleverly depicted simply by actors imitating a rollercoaster, for instance, or waltzers. A bus was just a few rows of seats, a driver and a huge steering wheel. All very effective.
The story opens joyfully with a young woman (Vivienne Carlyle), enjoying dancing and romancing with her boyfriend. Fast forward a few years and a few pregnancies and the girl, now Mrs Johnstone “aged 25 but feeling 42” has been deserted by her rotter of a husband and left to face another pregnancy all on her own.
Unable to feed and clothe her brood and discovering she is expecting twins, she reluctantly accepts the offer from her wealthy employer Mrs Lyons (Laura Harrison), to hand over one of the babies at birth. Unable to have children and with her husband away on business for months at a time, Mrs Lyons reasoned he would never know the child wasn’t his.
So the scene is set for the most heartbreaking event when Mrs Johnstone has to hand over one of her twin boys. Turning her back on the pram, she instructs her employer to not let her see which child she takes.
The two boys grow up on opposite sides of the tracks – Mickey (Sean Jones) in poverty and Eddie (Joe Sleight) with wealth.
But somehow life finds a way to reunite them, kindling a friendship between them so strong, Mickey takes out a knife, cuts their thumbs and, pressing them together, declares them blood brothers.
As seven-year-olds their interactions are really funny, for example when Mickey teaches Eddie how to say the “F” word. They are literally inseparable, even more so when Mickey’s schoolgirl crush, Linda (Gemma Brodrick) joins them in their shenanigans.
But it’s a misunderstanding between the two, involving Linda, that leads to unforgettably tragic scenes.
Kristofer Harding did a grand job narrating the story for the duration of the production. Even though Blood Brothers is pretty easy to follow, his narration was definitely an added bonus.
Of course, this is a musical, and Willy Russell’s music and lyrics in well-known tunes such as Tell Me It’s Not True, Marilyn Monroe, Easy Terms and Bright New Day are a highlight; especially when accompanied by live music from talented musicians, directed on the night by Matt Malone.
All the above are sung by Carlyle who certainly does justice to such memorable songs, while movingly portraying a woman worn down by drudgery, poverty and heartbreak. One of her final actions at the show’s end (no spoiler) literally had me in tears.
Sailing through life is posh twin Eddie and Sleight’s depiction of him perfectly reveals how being brought up in privilege can really affect how you see, naively in Eddie’s case, the big, bad world.
It was hugely amusing how learning swear words and watching Swedish movies at the cinema, brought him into his (unknown to him) twin, Mickey’s world.
Which brings me to my star of the show, Mickey; a role Jones has taken on both in touring productions as well as the West End.
I swear no seven-year-old could have been more energetic than this truly amazing actor’s portrayal of a young boy, with his imaginary horse, gun-fights and sheer joie de vivre of being alive.
As life took its toll on him, he visibly aged before our very eyes – gone was the carefree child, to be replaced by a man broken by hardships, prison, drugs and destructive temptations.
To my mind, his acting is worthy of an Oscar.
Everyone who took part on Tuesday evening so obviously gave their all and at the show’s end the audience instantly rose as one to give this “standing ovation” musical, just that with at least four curtain calls. I can’t rate it highly enough.
Age guidance 12+
Blood Brothers runs until Saturday, April 4th, 2026, at Hull New Theatre with tickets available at (01482) 300306 and www.hulltheatres.co.uk
Reviewer: Jackie Foottit
Reviewed: 31st March 2026
North West End UK Rating: