The play was originally written by Willy Russell in 1983, Blood Brothers follows the lives of two twins Eddie and Mickey. The Johnstone twins are born into a very large, working class family, who struggle to get by with their mother Mrs Johnstone, who is a cleaner for a middle class woman Mrs Lyons.
Mrs Lyons’ husband is away on work, but they both wish they could have children, however she is unable to, and Mr Lyons doesn’t want to adopt. When Mrs Lyons finds out that Mrs Johnstone is pregnant with twins she manipulates her power to convince Mrs Johnstone to give one of the twins to her- promising her she can …show more content…
With references to ‘going dancing’ and ‘Marilyn Monroe;’
The play I went to see, reflected the script originally written almost perfectly.
The set changed during the performance. At the start of the play in act one, there were backdrops of the scruffy Liverpool streets, with doors to the Johnstone’s house, and part of the Lyon’s house, which remained constant for the whole of act one. However, set pieces were also brought on, for example in the scenes in Mrs Lyons’ house a sofa was brought on for them to sit on. The set was fitting with the period of the play and reflected what the surrounding would have been like at that time. The costume designed reflected the period the play was set in, and also reflected the character. For example, Mickey (as a child) wore very scruffy and dirty shorts and t-shirts, whereas Eddie costume was much cleaner and neater. The costumes also reflected class for the other characters, such as Mrs Johnstone and Mrs Lyons. What the characters wore also reflected their age, as Mickey, Eddie and Linda grew up we see their costumes change in order to reflect …show more content…
As a member of the audience, you were affected by the emotions portrayed on stage; at the end of the play you really felt sad and sorry for the characters left. I enjoyed the play entirely, especially the use of monologues and direct address and stylised theatre throughout the performance, I found this really engaging as a member of the audience. I would recommend the show to most people, as I found it very entertaining and engaging, but also it contained a deeper comment on class structure and how unfair this is. However, I understand this play may not be for everyone, as musicals and singing are not something which everyone would enjoy.
From watching this piece of theatre, I have developed my skills of being a critical audience member whilst also developing my skills of watching theatre and thinking and talking about it. I have also learned more about how effective monologues and direct address can be when used effectively, and how much of an impact thorough characterisation can have on an audience. I also learnt more about accents, how these can be used effectively without being cliché, to create an effective characters and sustain role and characterisation throughout a