Blood Brothers (Touring) ★★★★★

Picture the scene: it’s the early 1990s. Around twenty past ten at night. Charing Cross Road is suddenly filled with people whose eyes are red and blinking. Fast forward to the present day. Outside Richmond Theatre. Around twenty past ten again and once more the pavement is filled again with people whose eyes are warm and wet. It’s a very visual demonstration that Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers has lost none of its emotional punch over the intervening years.

The story of two twins, separated at birth, one raised in wealth, the other in poverty, with fateful consequences, still has a sharp contemporary resonance with the class divide writ large in 2023. The differing impact of the current cost of living crisis, the rise of food banks, health inequalities and poverty disproportionately continuing to affect life chances and outcomes, it becomes clear quite how visionary Russell’s one act play that became this legendary musical truly was. Lyrics from Miss Jones: “Due to the world situation / The shrinking pound / the global slump / And the price of oil” could be culled from today’s newspapers’ headline.

Always a mix of Northern grit, grim and giggles, the current UK cast deliver the charm and the guts of a show that has moved from being a contemporary musical theatre to become a vital period piece. Still on the schools curriculum, The Recs smiled in amusement at what school children would make of references to giros, the dole and catalogues. Different times indeed!

Joe Sleight as Eddie, the twin brought up in the posh Lyons household, makes the most of the more thankless role of the two. Sean Jones, as the working-class Mickey, delivers the comedy schtick of the younger self with requisite energy but is more impressive as the pill-popping, depressed older self. Jones nails Russell’s polemic anger at how good people can be ruined by adverse economic circumstances entirely beyond their control.

While songs such as Easy Terms, Bright New Day and Marilyn Monroe as timeless as always, ultimately Blood Brothers‘ success or otherwise rests on the much put-upon shoulders of Mrs Johnstone. A powerhouse role that has been played by such musical luminaries as Barbara Dickson, Kiki Dee, Melanie C, Bernie Nolan, Carole King (on Broadway), the Liverpudlian matriarch has some big shoes to fill.

Niki Colwell Evans, known for appearing in the fourth series of the UK’s X Factor as well musicals such as Legally Blonde and Kinky Boots, takes on the pivotal role in this tour. As well as a perfect Scouse accent, Evans’ vocal phrasing is exquisite. Mrs Johnstone’s longing and sense of loss are superbly threaded throughout her performance. The passion and nuance she gives to her character’s maternal journey lends a relatability and a realism to the show’s emotional core. Because of the honesty of her acting and her compelling vocal prowess, by the time she reaches a tear-stained Tell Me It’s Not True, Niki Colwell Evans has established herself as up there with the very best Mrs Johnstones.

Blood Brothers is not without its faults. It wears its sentimentality heavily on its sleeve. The adults-as-7-year-olds section is still excruciatingly long. And Russell’s superstition trope feels outdated and overworked.

However, the underlying politics of economic inequality and the indefatigable set of musical numbers (brilliantly played by musical director Matt Malone‘s six piece band) ensures that the show remains an important and needed British musical. In the hands of the 2023 UK touring cast, Blood Brothers is essential viewing.