BWW Interviews: BLOOD BROTHERS – The Intimate Blockbuster Comes to Sydney

Did y'hear the story of the Johnstone Twins? With BLOOD BROTHERS coming to Sydney in February 2015, BroadwayWorld talks to the cast and creative team about this intimate new production of one of the greatest musicals of our time.

It's the little musical that could. In addition to winning countless theatre awards, BLOOD BROTHERS is one of the longest running musicals in West End history, with over 10,000 performances played across 24 years. As one of only three musicals to reach this epic milestone, BLOOD BROTHERS shares the record books with no less than global sensations LES MISERABLES and THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.

What separates BLOOD BROTHERS from its '80s mega-musical contemporaries, however, is that the show achieved its phenomenal success without any of the trappings the era was known for. This is not a show where chandeliers or barricades fall, and rather than drawing from a classic, grand-scale novel, writer Willy Russell's story of the Johnstone twins, and how one was kept (and one given away) is an achingly personal account of regular life gone wrong, right through to its sob-inducing final moments.

"At its heart, BLOOD BROTHERS is an intimate show," producer Enda Markey says. "I believe that BLOOD BROTHERS is in the top five musicals ever written. These characters go through a lot, and the audience is with them every step of the way."

Markey is presenting BLOOD BROTHERS in association with Hayes Theatre Co., Australia's award-winning new kids on the musical theatre block. Markey says the Hayes Theatre Co. venue offers a perfect fit for the show, and musical director Michael Tyack agrees. "The intimacy of the theatre is going to make this production incredibly immediate, and increase the sense of involvement with this very powerful piece of writing," Tyack says.

For director Andrew Pole, finding the perfect cast for this new Australian production was essential. The play is set in the working-class suburbs of Liverpool, and the accent has to be on point. For some of the actors, there is the added challenge of taking their characters on a journey from innocent young child to jaded adult - and then of course, there are the vocal demands of the score to consider.

In fact, Markey might be putting it mildly when he says that the show "does ask a lot of its actors."

"Naturally, we were looking for very special performers," Pole says of the casting process. "[They must] possess not only the technical and professional skills necessary to do justice to each role, but also to convince us that the fragile link to their own childhood remains intact.

It would be fair to say that unless the casting in this show is honest and truthful, the risk of slipping into pantomime and parody is not far away," he continues. "Our job was to find gritty performers of great integrity and charm, possessing the imaginative power lost to many of us when we grow older."

Pole says that he is thrilled with the cast they have assembled, a lineup that includes Australian musical theatre stars Michael Cormick, Blake Bowden, and Bobby Fox, with Helen Dallimore in the role of Mrs. Johnstone.

Markey says they've "struck gold" with Dallimore. "Mrs. Johnstone is one of the most coveted roles in musical theatre, and it requires an actress of incredible vocal, comedic and dramatic ability to take her on."

Indeed, Mrs. Johnstone has been played by some of the most talented, strong female performers of our time, and if Dallimore considers the role a dream, she also admits to finding it a little intimidating. "She is an iconic role and considering those who have gone before me, there's a lot to live up to."

Dallimore says she hopes to bring humour to the role to balance the dramatic, emotional journey her character finds herself on. And it is true that humour plays a big part in BLOOD BROTHERS, despite - or perhaps because of - the intensity of the story.

"It has audiences laughing, then in turn, sobbing," Markey says.

Pole adds that by addresssing both universal human themes and contemporary, moral dilemmas, the show is "in turn hysterically funny - and devastatingly moving."

For Michael Cormick, who takes on the role of Narrator, the intensity of what he considers this "'inspired piece of writing" is appealing. "I first saw BLOOD BROTHERS in London. I remember leaving the theatre with my best friend and not being able to speak for at least fifteen minutes. The effect the show had was profound. [It has] the ability to move audiences, and this is what interests me."

The show also had a similar effect on Blake Bowden, who plays the seemingly more fortunate Johnstone twin, Edward. He says that the show blew him away. "The music, the story, the intense and moving relationships. I can't remember the last time a piece of theatre made me laugh and cry so much."

Of the four principals, Bobby Fox as the tortured Mickey is the only one who hasn't seen a production of BLOOD BROTHERS. He says that he is looking forward to being able to approach the show with fresh eyes, and says the biggest challenge - "bringing truth to the various ages we see Mickey through his life," - is also what he is most looking forward to.

Markey says that with this new Australian production of BLOOD BROTHERS, the audience also has much to look forward to, not the least of which is the combination of "seeing some of this country's most celebrated musical theatre stars, working at the peak of their talents, in a truly great musical - in Sydney's hottest venue."

Adds Pole: "In this show, the story is unarguably the star. It speaks to anyone who has ever contemplated their upbringing and background, or wondered about the influence of an unseen fate on their domestic decisions. Add to this the wonderful humour that Willy Russell injects into his characters and you have a remarkable, some may say unforgettable, night at the theatre."

Enda Markey in association with Hayes Theatre Co presents

Willy Russell's BLOOD BROTHERS

Hayes Theatre Co, 19 Greenknowe Ave Potts Point

Dates: Friday 6 February to Sunday 8 March 2015

Times: Tuesday - Saturday: 7.30pm. Matinees: Saturday 2.30pm, Sunday 1pm.

For tickets and more information, click here.

Images: Kurt Sneddon