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The Blood Brothers

Described as a Liverpudlian West Side Story, Blood Brothers tells the terrible tale of two brothers seperated at birth. Shrouded in superstition and sadness, it is a story of a class divide that breaks through blood and kin.

It is by chance - or fate - that Mickey and Eddie strike up a friendship. Mickey - scruffy and dirty, with a mouth to match, appears to be the polar opposite of Eddie - who is well-spoken, clean and knows all the words in the dictionary.

The musical commences with an overture, and lighting that creates the atmoshpere of the smoky city of Liverpool at night. The backdrop shows the many lights of the city turning on as the dark closes in.

We are first introduced to Mrs johnstone, who describes her experience of a half-hearted marriage and the arrival of her numerous children. It is with a bittersweet attitude of acceptance that she explains the moment her husband deserts her, the cost of living for which she has little means, and the news that she is expecting not one more mouth to feed... but two.

We see the contrast of social classes between Mrs Johnstones home and the home in which she cleans, the home of Mr and Mrs Lyons.

Whilst the home of the Johnstones plays host to the constant clamour of childhood games and battles, Mrs Lyons is often alone whilst Mr Lyons is on business, in an impeccable house that suffers somewhat from a cold and sterile atmosphere.

Mrs Lyons desperately coerces Mrs Johnstone into passing one of the twins on to her, as the Lyons cannot have a baby of their own. Mrs Johnstone is hesitant, but is defeated by Mrs Lyons persistency and her own desire for her child to have a good upbringing.

Mickey and Eddies friendship appears as the consequence of childish fascination - Eddie sights Mickey as a kind of role model, as Mickey plays exciting games, which include shouting, spitting and swearing - something Eddie has never seen before! Mickey in turn feeds off Eddies entusiasm and generosity, and educates him in the laws of childhood friendships. The pair then confirm themselves Blood Brothers - a moment of dramatic irony for the audience, who know that there is no need for Mickey and eddie to certify their bond in this manner.

The knowledge that the two have become playmates devastates the neurotic Mrs Lyons, who has provided for Eddie and nurtured him into a well-bred, middle-class boy. However, despite wanting the best for her son, she recoils at the idea of his interaction with other children - particularly the boy she knows to be Eddies twin.

In a desperate attempt to keep Eddie to herself, Mrs Lyons persuades her husband to move the family away from the city. Humouring his wife, Mr Lyons concedes in the hope that his wife will return to her old self with a change of scene.

Eddie leaves with much reluctance, and a sad farewell to Mickey, Mrs Johnstone again puts on a brave face as she says goodbye to her son for the second time. We witness real tenderness between Eddie and Mrs Johnstone and this moment appears to show a more affectionate bond between Eddie and Mrs Johnstone than we have witnessed between Eddie and Mrs Lyons.

Soon after Eddie departure, Mrs Johnstone receives news of a more optimistic nature. Her family are being relacted to a new housing estate out of town and this provides new hope of starting again for the Johnstones.

In the second half of the performance, we are reintroduced to the twins, who have become teenagers since we last saw them. Mickey is a typical teenage lad, keen on self-image and not really sure how to handle his feeling towards girls. Eddie has predictably turned into a young gentleman, excelling at school and the very model of a polite young man. However, when the two reunite after so many years, we see the exterior personalities fall away. Mickey is no longer concerned with whether he looks and sounds cool, and Eddie forgets his Serious Young Sir persona in the excitment. The pair are immediately at home with each other once again.

the pair become inseperable - just as they were before - along with childhood friend Linda. Eddie gets into trouble at school for wearing the locket that Mrs Johnstone gave him upon their parting years ago, and surprises his teachers and mother by denfying them and continuing to wear it.

After this incident, Mrs Lyons confronts Mrs Johnstone and accuses her of ruining her. In this scene we see Mrs Lyons losing complete control and revealing her possessive and obssessive nature in full. Here we feel great sympathy for Mrs Johnstone, and we realise that despite having very little money to offer her children, she is the more kind and reasonable of the two mothers.

From this point onwards we notice a disintegration of events, the most pivotal point being Mickeys involvement with a shooting and his imprisonment. We see him plummet into depression and become reliant on medication. His childhood seetheart - now wife - Linda suffers as Mickey becomes despondent and lfeless behind bars.

Life does not improve upon Mickeys relaease - he stays dependant on his pills and pays no attention to Linda who tries everything to get his life back to normal. She is given sympathy and warmth from Eddie - now so different from his twin. Eddie, who upholds a decent job and is as generous as he was in childhood, cares greatly for Linda, and it is their affair that brings the show to its tragic climax.

Mickey confronts Eddie with a gun and the police arrive on the scene, along with Mrs Johnstone. Disregarding the superstition the Mrs Lyons imposed upon her years ago, Mrs Johnstone tells Mickey and Eddie the truth. Instead of being upset that he had not been told the truth, Mickey resents the fact that he was not the one who was given away to a wealthy family. In his anger, he shoots Eddie and is shot himslef by the police squad.

Mrs Johnstone and Linda rush onto the scene and Mrs Johnstone holds the two brothers together. The last song Tell ME Its Not True, creates a highly emotional atomsphere for the finale, representing the crescendo of the truth coming out. This helps us to reflect on the consequences of the characters decisions, and the significance of the superstition mentioned earlier in the play.