Autumn 2025 Cast Set For UK Tour of Bill Kenwright's BLOOD BROTHERS

Bill Kenwright's production of Blood Brothers will continue later this year when the 2025 Autumn tour opens at Milton Keynes Theatre on 27 August 2025.  

Vivienne Carlyle leads the cast as Mrs. Johnstone. Her performance earned her nightly standing ovations in the West End and has garnered widespread acclaim since she joined the national tour last year.

Continuing as the twin brothers, Mickey and Eddie, are Sean Jones and Joe Sleight with Gemma Brodrick reprising her role as Linda.

Making a welcome return after time away from the production are Kristofer Harding as the Narrator, Paula Tappenden as Mrs Lyons and Danny Knott as Perkins.

Joining the cast for the Autumn 2025 tour are Michael Gillett (Sammy), Francesca Benton-Stace (Donna Marie/Miss Jones), and Latesha Karisa (Brenda).

Also continuing with the tour are Tim Churchill (Mr. Lyons), Dominic Gore (Neighbour), Alex Harland (Policeman/Teacher) and Graeme Kinniburgh (Postman/Bus Conductor).

Written by award-winning playwright Willy Russell, few musicals have been received with such acclaim as the multi-award-winning Blood Brothers. Considered 'one of the best musicals ever written' (Sunday Times), Bill Kenwright’s production surpassed 10,000 performances in London’s West End, and it has been affectionately christened the ‘Standing Ovation Musical’, as inevitably it “brings the audience cheering to its feet and roaring its approval” (Daily Mail). The production has also achieved global success with sell-out seasons in the U.S., Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Japan. It has won 4 awards for Best Musical in London and received 7 Tony Award nominations on Broadway.

                            

This epic tale of Liverpool life started as a play, performed at a Liverpool comprehensive school in 1981, before opening at The Liverpool Playhouse in 1983. In March this year, Bill Kenwright’s production returned to the city of its birthplace for a two-week run marking the 100th anniversary of the Liverpool Empire Theatre, in a record-breaking season.

The superb score includes Bright New Day, Marilyn Monroe and the emotionally charged hit Tell Me It's Not True. 

Blood Brothers tells the moving tale of twins separated at birth, who grow up on the opposite sides of the tracks, only to meet again with tragic consequences.  

  

Willy Russell is 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.

Dates for the spring 2026 tour are already on sale, with further dates and casting for 2026 to be announced.

Tour Dates

Milton Keynes Theatre
atgtickets.com/miltonkeynes
Wed 27 – Sat 30 August 2025

Buxton Opera House
buxtonoperahouse.org.uk
Tue 2 – Fri 5 September 2025

Theatre Royal Nottingham
trch.co.uk
Tue 9 – Sat 13 September 2025

Queen’s Theatre Barnstaple
queenstheatre-barnstaple.com
Tue 16 – Sat 20 September 2025

Regent Theatre Stoke
atgtickets.com/stoke
Tue 23 – Sat 27 September 2025

Theatr Clwyd, Mold
theatrclwyd.com
Tue 30 September – Sat 4 October 2025

Poole Lighthouse
lighthousepoole.co.uk
Tue 7 – Sat 11 October 2025

Cheltenham Everyman
everymantheatre.org.uk
Tue 14 – Sat 18 October 2025

Swindon Wyvern Theatre
swindontheatre.co.uk
Tue 21 – Sat 25 October 2025

Belfast Grand Opera House
goh.co.uk
Tue 28 October – Sat 8 November 2025

Cast Doncaster
castindoncaster.com
Tue 11 – Sat 15 November 2025

The Lowry, Salford
thelowry.com
Tue 18 – Sat 22 November 2025

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