Tuesday, November 5

Tag: Tim Churchill

Blood Brothers – Edinburgh Playhouse
Scotland

Blood Brothers – Edinburgh Playhouse

Blood Brothers is an emotional morality tale which is all about the narrative, less about the music.   Poor and fecund Mrs Johnstone discovers she is expecting twins shortly after starting work as a cleaner for rich infertile Mrs Lyons.  With her husband having done a bunk and too many mouths to feed already, Mrs Johnstone agrees to let Mrs Lyons have one of her twins.  Conveniently Mr Lyons is away on business for nine months, so Mrs Lyons is able to create the pretence of pregnancy, fooling everybody including her husband, into believing the baby is hers.  The show’s narrator constantly warns of the consequences of their actions and is the voice of impending doom throughout. Written by Willy Russell, directed by Bob Tomson and Bill Kenwright (resident director...
Blood Brothers – Birmingham Hippodrome
West Midlands

Blood Brothers – Birmingham Hippodrome

It’s not surprising that two of the greatest, and longest-lasting, touring shows in the history of the British theatre (“Blood Brothers” and “Joseph”) have outlasted the producer of both, Bill Kenwright. It was his acumen as well as his insight which spotted their potential for longevity - and he was certainly proved right. Not only was Kenwright a powerhouse of theatre production for many years, but the progenitor of numerous solid, lucrative tours giving work to hundreds, if not thousands, of actors, singers and dancers. It’s with these two shows Kenwright will be synonymous, and both have toured forever without a conclusion in sight. “Joseph” has lasted pretty much continuously for forty years with “Blood Brothers” trailing behind with a mere thirty or so under its belt. Where “Joseph” ...