Twin brothers Mickey and Eddie are separated at birth and raised in completely different worlds. Their mother, Mrs Johnstone, struggling to support her family, gives one of the babies to the wealthy Mrs Lyons. The boys grow up unaware that they are brothers and, by chance, become close friends. Childhood makes their differences seem small, but adulthood does not. Money, opportunity, jealousy and love begin to pull them apart until the secret surrounding their birth finally catches up with both families, ending in tragedy.
All Saints Elton Theatre Company presented the play version of Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers in October 2023, directed by Andy Milthorpe and Rebecca Foster.
At its heart, Blood Brothers is a story about two children who begin life as equals but are given very different chances because of the families into which they grow up.
Chris White played Mickey, who remains in a working-class family, while Matthew Fleming played Eddie, growing up with financial security and opportunities that Mickey never receives. Their friendship survives childhood, but the pressures around them become harder to escape as they grow older.
Running alongside their story is the fear created by the secret their mothers share. Olivia Kershaw played Mrs Lyons, who becomes increasingly determined to keep Eddie’s true identity hidden, while Laura Thompson played Mrs Johnstone, who must live with the consequences of a decision originally made through desperation.
Willy Russell’s story asks difficult questions about class, opportunity, family and whether our lives are shaped by fate or by the circumstances around us.
Charlotte Crowley played Linda, while Martin Wadsworth was the Narrator. The play is frequently funny, particularly when Mickey and Eddie are young, which only makes the later events more painful.
Our October 2023 production brought one of Russell’s best-known stories to Bury in its play form, telling a story that remains powerful because its central question is so simple: how different might two lives become when they begin together but are given completely different opportunities?