Analysis of Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers

Analysis of Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers

Tell me it’s not true

Say it’s just a story

These words echoed in my head as I entered the Phoenix Theatre. I had

had past experience with “Blood Brothers” by singing the heartbreaking

ballad “Tell Me It’s Not True” in a past show. Therefore I anticipated

that the performance I was about to watch was going to be a roller

coaster of emotions, with bitter consequences.

I expected a first class show with strong, slick performances from the

cast and fantastic musical numbers. This expectation of “Blood

Brothers” was partly due to it being in the reputable West End of

London and had been running at the Phoenix Theatre since 1991. This

made me think that a musical that could still have large audiences

coming to see it in the highly competitive London Theatre scene, must

have something exceptional.

I also has background knowledge about “Blood Brothers” from reading

the script in parts in class. However, some parts of the play were

still patchy to me, so I was looking forward to having the entire

story acted out from start to finish. It was interesting for me as

well because I was familiar with other plays Willy Russell had

written. Having seen Shirley Valentine and read “A Grand Day Out” I

enjoyed his of simple, uncluttered style of writing.

“Blood Brothers” is set in Liverpool 1962. Its story stems from an

impoverished single mother of six called Mrs Johnstone who, by

finding that she is pregnant with twins, is persuaded to give up one

of her unborn children to her employer, Mrs Lyons. The story unfolds

by portraying how the two brothers grow up so differently without ever

knowing they have a twin.

“Of one womb born, on the self same day How one was kept and one given

away?”

The story deepens when the twins become friends when they are seven

but both realise that they have the same birthday and therefore are

both “nearly eight”. They become best friends and declare one another

to be their “Blood Brother”. From then on the story follows their

persistence to remain friends and the obstacles each come up against.

Sadly though, their forbidden friendship finally leads to one

another’s tragic death; never knowing the truth that they were

brothers.

Never knowing they shared one name Till the day they died

I never really absorbed the absurdity of the storyline because the

script was so subtle in its telling of the story, and the performance

of the cast didn’t over dramatise the events unfolding. If they had,

it would have made the story have an unwanted comical element as it