Blood Brothers makes a triumphant return to Theatre Royal Bath

Tuesday night’s packed auditorium gave the performers a thoroughly deserved standing ovation and the 14-strong cast came back on stage for at least four curtain calls.

The 2.75-hour show tells the tale of two Johnstone twin brothers, separated at birth, whose lives are defined by the social class divide in which they find themselves.

Set in Liverpool in post-war 1960s Britain, the musical folk opera follows the journeys of Mickey and Eddie as they grow up in completely different environments, one a working-class struggle to make ends meet, and the other a comfortable middle-class upbringing.

Their mother Mrs Johnstone already has seven other children and cannot afford to keep them both. This forces her to give Eddie away to her wealthy boss Mrs Lyons, who is unable to bear her own children.

As they grow older, leading ostensibly separate lives, they begin to gravitate back towards each other, at the ages of seven and 14, and in the process they eventually become best friends and ‘blood brothers’.

However, a touching story of unconditional and instinctive brotherly love is tarnished forever by tragedy, as the twins drift apart in adulthood, with Mickey ending up in prison, and Eddie going off to university.

Niki Evans, who came fourth in the 2007 X-Factor talent show series, gives an absolutely superb performance as Mrs Johnstone, with her emotions played out with every soaring note as she expresses the sadness and joy as her life progresses.

Robbie Scotcher makes the most of his role as the Narrator, a lurking presence in the background, who plays the devil on her shoulder, and gives a foreboding warning of the tragedy to come.

Paula Tappenden as Mrs Lyons gives a telling performance as the middle-class wife who is unable to bear her own children and takes advantage of the opportunity to adopt one of Mrs Johnstone’s twins, choosing Eddie from the pram.

But the decision comes back to haunt her and influence the rest of her life, driving her fears about being ‘found out’ and causing her to move house as her anxiety increases and neuroses develop.

The stars of the show are, quite rightly, Mickey (Sean Jones) and Eddie (Joel Benedict) whose relationship is key to the production.

Jones convincingly plays the working-class Mickey from a seven-year-old child all the way up to adulthood, while Benedict is the quintessential English middle-class ‘toff’ with a public school education and cut-glass accent.

In between, is their tug-of war love interest Linda (Carly Burns) who is in love with Mickey as a teenager, marries him aged 17 and quickly becomes pregnant.

She then has an extra-marital fling with Eddie as her husband’s mental health deteriorates when he becomes dependent on anti-depressant drugs following a seven-year spell in prison.

That relationship inspires the tragic end to Blood Brothers as the twins battle it out in a Liverpool council chamber and Mickey shoots Eddie and then himself.

The main cast members are ably supported by Daniel Taylor as Sammy, Mickey’s elder brother; Tim Churchill as Mr Lyons; Nick Wilkes as policeman/teacher; Grace Galloway as Donna Marie/Miss Jones; Andy Owens as Perkins; Josh Capper as Neighbour; Melissa Potts as Brenda, and Jacob Yolland as the Bus Conductor.

Blood Brothers has quite deservedly won numerous awards and critical acclaim since its launch on the public stage in 1983, but after all those years still manages to produce a fun and entertaining night out.

The story is at once emotionally gripping, funny and heart-rending – a dramatically potent combination that serves to captivate its audience and leave them wanting more.

Blood Brothers is on at the Theatre Royal in Bath until Saturday, March 12. Tickets are available from the box office on 01225 448844 or online at www.theatreroyal.org.uk