Laugh or Cry... (Blood Brothers)

Member Name: skysky69

Product:	Blood Brothers
Date:	02/04/09 (104 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The tickets were half price, great show, catchy songs

Disadvantages: Sad ending....

I had heard mixed reviews of Blood Brothers and was unsure of what to expect. Some people seemed to think that Blood Brothers was the best show they had ever seen and others were disappointed. Being honest, one of the biggest reasons I decided to go and see this particular show was that the tickets were half price so we got two tickets for £22.50 each. The seats were fantastic, 8 rows back from the stage and in the centre next to the aisle so my husband could stretch his legs out.

I will not give too much away about the storyline, but the show starts with the ending, and then goes back to the beginning. The storyline is based around Mrs Johnstone and her twin boys who are separated at birth. Mrs Johnstone is a single mother to a number of children and cannot afford to give them the lifestyle she thinks they deserve. Her employer on the other hand is a wealthy woman who cannot have a child and persuades Mrs Johnstone to let her bring up one of the twins as her own. No matter what measures the women take, the boys' paths seemed to cross and they are drawn to each other. The narrator's presence throughout is fantastic, he is often portrayed as the bad side of everything that is going on, the devil on her shoulder and her conscience. Within 10 minutes of watching the show, I could really believe that the actors on stage were 8 year old boys and girls. It was quite remarkable to see the boys grow into men before your eyes.

This show stretched my emotions from one end of the scale to another. One minute you are laughing and the next you are crying. The songs are mainly based around just a few tunes but the lyrics are changed. Songs such as Marilyn Monroe and Cowboys and Indians are extremely catchy and Tell Me Its Not True is a real tear jerker.

I would recommend this show to anyone who likes to visit the West End. The Phoenix Theatre is, if anything, looking a little tired, but once the lights go down, it captivates and you lose yourself in the show. The theatre was probably only half full, but the actors gave it everything they had and the raw emotion shone through.

Summary: This show made me an emotional wreck! Laughing and crying, I didn't know what to do next!