Skip to main content

Review of Blood Brothers (the play) by Moulton Players at Moulton Theatre, Northampton

Willy Russell's Blood Brothers was the very first musical that I saw live and to see the show minus this music seemed an impossible thought. This was despite the fact that Russell's story of two twins separated at birth is even minus that music a tremendous roller coaster of emotion. I have to admit that for sometime during the early part of the play I was frankly missing the music, even though the integral Marilyn Monroe song is present at the start of both acts. However mostly due to the strength of many of the performances in this production, I was finally able to get into the happy/sad story once again.

At its centre is the turmoil of the life of Mrs Johnstone (a quite brilliant Katie Bunting), dispenser of seemingly endless babies which comes to a head with the news that one is to become two new babes to feed and the eventual events that leave one of them in the hands of Mrs Lyons (Barbara Jackson).


Blood Brothers is a challenging time travelling story progressing through almost thirty years and the brothers themselves, Mickey and Eddie, are an extremely challenging role to perform with the same actors depicting them from seven up to their late teens and beyond. Within these roles though are a couple of some of the best amateur performances that I have so far seen. Jay Lucas as the stray and rebellious Mickey and Neil Brooke as the softy and posh Eddie are never not leaving their roles. Pitching the silly and often precocious attitudes of the seven year olds and the awkward fourteen years old simply perfectly. Perhaps without having the songs to perform, it gives more opportunity to develop the characters mannerisms more, and they do just that as they truly are both brilliant.


Also a superb little performance is that of Corinna Jane as Linda, at first a playmate and far better shot than the boys and into the latter years, the love interest of both brothers. They form as a trio, a constant delight on stage; playful, clever and despite the challenges of the roles, realistic.

Richard Smith is excellent, clear and crisp as The Narrator, although the role is slightly diminished with the absence of some of the roles key tunes. He like the rest of the cast though sport a surprisingly good Liverpudlian dialect. Completing the cast is the delightful Phil Purkiss taking on a bevy of roles and milking as much humour out of each one.


Direction from Lee Winston is seamless, keeping the fast paced scenes moving and with this play, there are an awful lot of scenes to contend with. Never over doing the use of props or set changes, just keeping is sensible and achievable, therefore not making it distracting. One particularly cleverly created scene was the kids gunfight, really well staged and very funny as a result. Indeed the work around the sparing of the two brothers is brilliantly constructed throughout. There were a number of significant changes to the story line, which sometimes worked and sometimes didn't and not knowing the play version specifically, I am unable to comment on whether these are universal or a decision of this particular production. I did certainly feel the denouement on this occasion did not quite work as well as the previous version I had seen. However the strength of the ending still came through despite this.


Blood Brothers heralded my very first encounter with the Moulton Players (and indeed my first visit to Moulton Theatre), however on the basis of this, really one of the best created amateur shows I have seen, I feel sure I will return soon. The run for Blood Brothers is deservedly sold out, however if you are able to get a ticket somehow from a return, you are sure of a really excellent night out.

Performance reviewed: Tuesday 12th July, 2016 at the Playhouse Theatre, Northampton

Blood Brothers runs at the Moulton Theatre, Northampton until Saturday 16th July, 2016.

For full details of the Moulton Theatre visit their website at http://moultontheatre.com/

(Photos: Graham Follett)

Popular posts from this blog

Review of Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders - The Redemption of Thomas Shelby at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

The Rambert Dance Company is the oldest such company in Britain having first performed in 1926. However, despite this, this was my first encounter with the group in my ten years of theatre-going. Coupled with this, it was also my first encounter with Peaky Blinders , having never seen the show, and only knowing a few vague things about it. My companion for the evening however was very familiar with the show, allowing some background behind the show. It turns out though,  Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders - The Redemption of Thomas Shelby needs a little more than a good bit of knowledge of the show, as despite this production having incredible style, there struggles to be a cohesive structure to the show and the storytelling. Much more than other dance shows as well. The first act does a whistle-stop tour of the first five seasons and while it is a feast on the eye, and on the ear, it gets extremely confusing at times. The second act is freestyle and drifts away from the stories tol...

Review of Breaking the Code at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

Breaking The Code , the opening play in the new Made in Northampton season at Royal & Derngate, is a surprisingly old and rarely seen play. Written in 1986 by Hugh Whitemore, it tells the story of legendary codebreaker Alan Turing, a man who, in the 1980s, when this play first appeared, was relatively unknown. The years since the origin of this play have been good for Turing, with his life's work finally getting the recognition it deserves, and also, very much what this play centres on, a recognition of the horrific life and end that Turing had as a result of dealing with the laws of the day. Breaking the Code has seen life before on the stage of the Royal, as back in 2003, Philip Franks took to the role of Turing in a very well-received production. So, what of this brand new version directed by the Royal & Derngate's artistic director Jesse Jones? Does it live up to Turing's legend? That is an unquestionable yes with no machines needed to crack the class behind thi...

Review of National Theatre Connections 2017 (16 Shows) at Royal & Derngate (Royal & Underground), Northampton

Alongside the University of Northampton BA Actors Flash Festival, the Connections festival at Royal & Derngate is now my joint favourite week of theatre each year. This is my fourth year at the festival and each time I have tried my very best (and succeeded) in seeing more and more of those on offer (four in 2014, ten in 2015 and twelve last year). This year I cracked sixteen shows, including the most interesting, a chance to see two of the plays by three different groups. I was able to see nine of this year's ten plays (a single nagging one, Musical Differences by Robin French was missing from the R&D line-up), and most I either enjoyed or finally understood their merits or reasons for inclusion. The writing of sixteen reviews is a little bit of an daunting prospect, however, I will do my best to review each of the plays and those I saw more than once, and pick around the comparisons. Extremism by Anders Lustgarten Performed by Bedford College Extremism was perfo...