Review: Blood Brothers @ Phoenix Theatre: 10.11.11

THEATRE: I'd never been to The Phoenix Theatre before, and really liked the feel of it. For those of you who have never been inside it before, it's relatively small - perfect for a show like Blood Brothers - and beautifully preserved from when it was first built about a century ago. The entrance hall is fantastic with two massive, sweeping staircases going up to the Dress and Upper Circles on either side of the room.

SEATS: Really good for £20 tickets… Row J in the Dress Circle with a totally unobstructed view of the stage.

A review of each cast member individually:

Mrs. Johnstone: What an stunning performance from Amy Robbins as the female lead! Everything she did on stage was so understated and beautifully executed. These incredible acting skills were heightened by her singing voice which was so unusual in its rich, deep tone. I honestly could not fault her performance one bit, I'm pleased to say.

The Narrator: I thought I knew pretty much what I was in for when I found out that Marti Pellow would be playing the role of the sinister narrator of the story, as I'd seen him earlier on this year as the title role in Jekyll & Hyde, his performance of which I enjoyed immensely. But here, I hadn't counted on just how much his voice had improved and matured. Gone were the pop riffs and vocal technique, and they were replaced with a foreboding, formidable stage presence coupled with a stunning singing voice. I think that, for that, I can forgive the slightly suspect Liverpudlian accent.

Mickey Johnstone: My programme that I bought before the performance contained a slip of paper declaring that Mickey would be played by David Cooper, but my mum and I felt there must have been a mistake as it was clear that the man on stage was, in fact, the main actor, Stephen Palfremann. He led the audience on at every turn and twist in the storyline to believe fully that he was, in fact, seven, fourteen, eighteen and twenty-something respectively, turning subtly but believably from a truant young boy to an embittered, hardened man. His voice was absolutely gorgeous and it was refreshing to see that someone who is maybe not as well known as other actors in musical theatre, be chosen for and pull off such a difficult role with such talent.

Eddie Lyons: Let me just say that the chemistry between the two actors playing twins Mickey and Eddie was tangible and Simon Willmont did extremely well as the wealthy Edward Lyons, going from a young boy to an intelligent young man. Every action that he did on stage was accentuated and punchy, whilst still remaining in a very convincing character all the way through. Yet again, another actor whose voice really caught me off-guard.

Mrs. Jennifer Lyons: The whole audience witnessed another lovely, understated performance from Vivienne Carlyle as Mrs. Lyons. Her character's mental state steadily mounted until it reached a frenzied climax of insanity, leaving the audience thrilled to the core. Her voice and Mrs. Johnstone's went wonderfully together, too.

Linda: When I first saw her playing seven-year-old Linda, Louise Clayton didn't seem at all like a bad actress, more 'meh', if you know what I mean. Later on, however, she showed real skill at building tension as well as the character and her reaction in the final scene was heart-breaking.

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Other notes about the performance: Blood Brothers, after just one viewing, has easily made it into my top 5 musicals ever to grace the stage. There's something present - that is also made use of in Billy Elliot - that's very real in its Northern grittiness. The whole plot, with the help of the small company, seemed so real. Another interesting way of building the tension up to that shattering final scene and song was that it was staged and directed so that, after a song finished, there would be no time to clap (and break the mounting dramatic apprehension) as the next scene would continue immediately. Also, the character that I found the most fascinating was the Narrator. I loved that he would just stand on the stage to one side and watch the action unfolding and the way that he slowly become more real and tangible as the story continued was truly chilling.

I highly recommend this for any person who is looking for a wonderful night out that will force you to go through a spectrum of emotions, from laughing to crying, that will truly get to you in more ways than one.