Willy Russell's legendary musical, Blood Brothers returned to Birmingham's Hippodrome to its now almost guaranteed standing ovation on opening night, as the current cast, led by Lyn Paul blew the crowd away. Lyn Paul returns to the role that she played when Blood Brothers finished its over 10,000 show run at London's The Phoenix Theatre in 2012. There were captivating performances from all the lead performers, and especially the portrayal of the bond between the titiular Blood Brothers by Sean Jones and Joel Benedict.
The musical tells the captivating and moving tale of twins who, separated at birth, grow up on opposite sides of the tracks, only to meet again with fateful consequences.
The role of the narrator by Dean Chisnall perfectly bounced off the cast where needed, with the haunting refrain of 'now you know the devil's got your number' perfectly punctuating the key points of the story, as his mere presence in a scene sending a feeling of menace and threat over the audience.
Striking a great balance between serious topics and light hearted comic relief from the 'children' of the show, Blood Brothers looks set for another successful run at the Hippodrome, with great staging, lighting and music from the multitalented team behind each aspect, leaving a slick and polished finish to this musical, definitely not one to miss! The show runs at the Hippodrome until Saturday October 22nd.