Bill Kenwright’s ‘Dazzling’ (Sunday Telegraph) production of the international smash hit musical Blood Brothers announces its 2019 Spring tour, opening on Tuesday 29th January at Malvern Festival Theatre. This iconic musical has been visiting theatres across the country throughout 2018, performing to sell-out houses and receiving standing ovations.
Considered ‘One of the best musicals ever written’ (Sunday Times), Blood Brothers, written by award-winning playwright Willy Russell has triumphed across the globe. Scooping up no fewer than four awards for best musical in London and seven Tony Award nominations on Broadway, Blood Brothers is simply ‘Unmissable and unbeatable’ (The Spectator).
Olivier Award nominated British actress Linzi Hateley returns to the seminal role of Mrs Johnstone. She said: “Mrs Johnstone is an iconic role that I’ve always secretly dreamed of playing. I’m thrilled to perform it to audience’s right across our country.”
Linzi has performed in countless West End productions, the most recent of which being the role of Donna in Mamma Mia. At just seventeen years old, Linzi was cast as the title role in the Royal Shakespeare’s production of CARRIE: THE MUSICAL, a role that would take her to Broadway. She went on to star as The Narrator in the London Palladium production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, alongside Jason Donovan as Joseph, for which she was nominated for an Olivier Award. Other West End roles include Éponine in Les Misérables, Roxie Hart in Chicago, Rizzo in Grease and Winifred Banks in Mary Poppins. She also starred as Helen in the National Theatre’s revival of London Road.
The cast for Blood Brothers includes Sarah Jane Buckley, Sean Jones, Mark Hutchinson, Robbie Scotcher, Danielle Corlass, Tim Churchill, Graham Martin, Amy Jane Ollies, Alison Crawford, Graeme Kinniburgh, Andy Owens and Josh Capper.
This epic tale of Liverpool life started as a play, performed at a Liverpool comprehensive school in 1981 before opening at the Liverpool Playhouse 35 years ago in 1983, completing sell out seasons in the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Japan. Blood Brothers also ran in London’s West End for 24 years, exceeding 10,000 performances, one of only three musicals ever to achieve that milestone.
Blood Brothers tells the captivating and moving story of twin boys separated at birth, only to be reunited by a twist of fate and a mother’s haunting secret. The memorable score includes A Bright New Day, Marilyn Monroe and the emotionally charged hit Tell Me It’s Not True.
When Mrs Johnstone, a young mother, is deserted by her husband and left to her own devices to provide for seven hungry children she takes a job as a housekeeper in order to make ends meet. It is not long before her brittle world crashes around her when she discovers herself to be pregnant yet again – this time with twins! In a moment of weakness and desperation, she enters a secret pact with her employer which leads inexorably to the show’s shattering climax.
A sensational cast, incredible show stopping music, remarkable staging and five star performances make Blood Brothers an enthralling night of entertainment.
Willy Russell is undeniably one of this country’s leading contemporary dramatists. His countless credits include Educating Rita and Shirley Valentine. Educating Rita, originally commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, enjoyed a two year run in the West End and was made into a movie starring Michael Caine and Julie Walters. Shirley Valentine also made the move from stage to screen in an enormously popular film starring Pauline Collins and Tom Conti.
For full tour details visit https://www.kenwright.com/portfolio/blood-brothers/
