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REVIEW: Blood Brothers @ Sunderland Empire

Posted on September 21st 2022 by Whats on Northeast

The critically acclaimed musical of the classic tale of the Johnstone twins came to the stage in style last night and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house! The story follows two twin boys separated at birth. One stays with their mother, living life on the breadline, while the other is given to a higher class family and has an affluent life. Once they meet, they are inseparable. But when they learn the truth about their heritage, everything comes to a bitter end.

Throughout the performance there was so much character development from Mrs Johnstone (the birth mother of the twins) played by Niki Colwell Evans and Mickey, the less fortunate twin, played by Sean Jones. Aside from the impeccable vocals from Niki, she truly played her character with heart and soul, putting on an incredible show as a mother desperate to see her two boys grow up to be good men. Sean’s performance as Mickey was also breath-taking, seeing him grow from a small innocent boy into a man with nothing to lose. The emotion he conveyed through his character was enough that sobs could be heard from all around the auditorium.

Another vital character to the performance was the narrator, played by Richard Munday. Just his presence at the side of the stage, lurking in the dark corners of the set was enough to make you feel like something bad was about to unfold. He created so much atmosphere and suspense you could feel yourself on the edge of your seat. His character almost represented evil itself and was personified as a narrator, but also as an innate voice inside the main characters heads.

Although the story comes to a sombre end the whole venue was on their feet at the encore. This classic tale was perfectly brought to life on the stage and is a must see!

You can catch Blood Brothers until Saturday 24th September and tickets are available here: https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/blood-brothers/sunderland-empire/

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