Review: Blood Brothers at Swindon Wyvern Theatre

The opening night of Blood Brothers at the Swindon Wyvern Theatre saw a sell-out crowd, and with good reason as the renowned musical had every member of the audience on their feet at the end.

It is an overused cliche when you say that a show makes you laugh and cry, but that is precisely what the vast majority who have seen 'Blood Brothers' at the Wyvern Theatre will tell you after the final curtain.

Blood Brothers, which tells the story of Liverpudlian twins who are separated at birth after the mother gives one away to keep the bailiffs at bay, is a tragic story from beginning (where the death of the pair is revealed in the first 10 seconds) to end, but each member of the cast have more than their fair share of comedic lines.

Lyn Paul, who portrays Mrs Johnstone, demonstrates exactly why she has been doing it for 20 years as the former New Seekers member delivers a peerless performance of the penniless mother while Dean Chisnall (Narrator), Sean Jones (Mickey), Mark Hutchinson (Eddie), Sarah Jane Buckley (Mrs Lyons) and Danielle Corlass (Linda) too are flawless as the supporting cast.

Jones, Hutchinson and Corlass in particular display their diverse range at playing eight, 14 and 18 year olds all in the space of two hours with the utmost of believability as the trio seem to effortlessly strike up a similar bond to that of their characters.

There is a reason that Blood Brothers has been going strong for 34 years - the lessons that can be taken away from the show about class, poverty and sacrifice still apply and this Swindon show does not let anyone down in any sense. 

The Wyvern Theatre will be hosting Blood Brothers until Saturday, February 25. 

To book tickets visit the Wyvern website https://swindontheatres.co.uk/Online/default.asp?doWork::WScontent::loadArticle=Load&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::article_id=8FCB9F40-90D2-409B-A105-594443EE2DCC#SearchResultWidgetLocation