“Blood Brothers”

Nottingham Theatre Royal

Anybody who knows me, even reasonably well, knows that Willy Russell’s "Blood Brothers" is my all-time favourite musical. It has been since I first saw it many years ago and remains to this day, for me, the perfect musical. A mix of happy and sad, light and heavy, emotional on every level.

The tale is one of twins separated at birth and the superstitions that are held with the separation of the twins. They grow up on opposite sides of the tracks, meeting again, their lives intertwining resulting with the most tragic of endings, but not knowing until the end that they were twins.

You see Mrs Johnstone's journey from the highs of getting married to the lows of her possessions being repossessed through to the high of realising that she was again expecting, this time twins, only being forced into having to give one of the twins away to Mrs Lyons who was unable to have children. And that is where everything started to go terribly wrong.

Lyn Paul returns to the iconic role of Mrs Johnstone, and for me my favourite of all the wonderful actors I have seen play this role. Lyn pours every bit of emotion into the role as she carries you with her culminating in a tsunami of emotional outpouring, richly deserving of the standing ovation the cast always receive. Lyn, I'll miss you when you finally say farewell to Mrs Johnstone.

Josh Capper (Mickey) had big boots to fill when he took over the role from Sean Jones and Alexander Patmore but these characters are so well written that as long as you keep the characteristics, and in Mickey's case, the physicality of the character, you can't go far wrong and Josh did exactly that. With all the characters you could visibly see the aging process form the young lad of seven, nearly eight years old, up to the man, shuffling around the stage, dependent on the pills he has been told he has to take. I must mention one of my favourite scenes with Josh as at the start of act two when he shows off his "dancing" skills! Classic comedy.

Daniel Taylor (Sammy) is as wonderful as ever. As far as I can remember I have always seen Daniel play Sammy, and I for one will never tire of seeing this flexi-faced actor gurn his way through the ten-year-old Sammy, resplendent with dead worms and the ability to gob in anyone's face with remarkable accuracy. He is like a chameleon as he goes from the ten-year-old, bullying his younger brother, to the small-time gangster who is the catalyst of Mickey's downfall.

Danielle Corlass (Linda), again makes an incredible transformation from sexy school girl to slightly dowdy wife and mother, but boy she has a hell of a lot to put up with, with Mickey. It's in the second act that Danielle really pulls out the emotional acting card, and WOW!

Joel Benedict (Eddie) is another new actor in this part, well to me he is new anyway, and again that aging process from slightly awkward posh boy to his position at the Council is impressive, and literally seems to grow before your eyes.

Paula Tappenden (Mrs Lyons) also has that ability to age on stage. Now I have seen Paula play this role previously but this time I really noticed the change from a slightly neurotic woman to full on paranoia, knowing that at any time, the slightest nudge could push her fully over the edge.

Tim Churchill (Mr Lyons), again an actor I have seen several times playing this role and you never get tired of seeing someone who know their role inside out and presents the character with such ease, like all of these actors in the show.

Robbie Scotcher (Narrator) brings the unease and edge to the show, always there when things seem to be going well to dampen and darken the atmosphere, reminding the characters of the pact that was made on the bible. Weaving in and out of the story and the scenery like a shark stalking its' prey. What makes this role so dark is that you never really know if Mrs Johnstone and Mrs Lyons can actually see him, a bit like the devil on your shoulder, or is it just the whiff of superstition that keeps coming back to haunt the two women?

Hannah Barr, Grace Galloway, Andy Owens, Nick Wilkes and Graeme Kinniburgh complete the cast in various roles.

The soundtrack is one of the best, with great songs like the whimsical “Marilyn Monroe”, the upbeat and hopeful “Brand New Day”, the warning song “Shoes On The Table” and that final song that gets the hairs on my neck standing up every single time I see this musical, “Tell Me It’s Not True” among them.

Every vocal performance was spot on, from every cast member. I will never tire of hearing this soundtrack, but I would love there to be a cast recording from this cast as, after searching everywhere, I've never found one that Lyn Paul has done. as this is her farewell tour, it would be brilliant to have Lyn record these wonderful songs along with the rest of the cast.

This show has an incredible sound design (Dan Samson) which really creates atmosphere in this show. It is crisp, clear and the echo chamber really gives a spooky feel.

As I started off saying, this musical is my favourite musical, and over my previous reviews I've lauded this musical and the incredible cast members. for me it gets better every time I experience it, and still get just a bit choked up with Mickey's scenes post-prison and that final scene still blows me away, even though I know exactly what is to come. Danielle's wail and Lyn's emotional scenes really do get me every time, especially when she tenderly kisses both sons on their heads and joins their hands together.

This show really ought to be sponsored by some paper hanky company because in act one you'll be crying with laughter, and in act two, they will just leave you crying.

“ Blood Brothers” is at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 18 September.