BLOOD BROTHERS Reveals Spring 2026 Cast and Tour Dates

Bill Kenwright production of the international hit musical, Blood Brothers has announced its Spring 2026 tour dates, opening at Churchill Theatre, Bromley on Wednesday 14 January 2026. 

Vivienne Carlyle will continue as Mrs. Johnstone having gained widespread critical acclaim and nightly standing ovations on the show's most recent tours. 

Richard Munday rejoins Blood Brothers as the Narrator, at certain venues, after playing the role on the 2022–2023 UK tour. He will share the part with Kristofer Harding, a role he first played in 2016 and returned to in the most recent 2025 tour. 

Fresh from alternating the role of Elphaba in Wicked (Apollo Victoria) and covering Norma Desmond in Jamie Lloyd's production of Sunset Boulevard (Savoy), Laura Harrison returns to Blood Brothers. Harrison previously played Donna Marie in the 2015 tour and is now taking on the role of Mrs Lyons. 

For performances in Derry and Dublin, Mrs Johnstone will be played by Ireland's own musical theatre legend, Rebecca Storm. Rebecca is thrilled to return to a role she has truly made her own and join the Blood Brothers company for a limited run at the Millenium Forum followed by the Bord Gais Energy Theatre. 

Sean Jones and Joe Sleight will also be returning as the twin brothers, Mickey and Eddie and Gemma Brodrick will continue to play Linda. 

Also reprising their roles are Michael Gillett (Sammy), Tim Churchill (Mr Lyons), Francesca Benton-Stace(Donna Marie/Miss Jones), Latesha Karisa (Brenda), Danny Knott (Perkins), Dominic Gore (Neighbour), Alex Harland(Policeman/Teacher) and Graeme Kinniburgh (Postman/Bus Conductor).

About Blood Brothers

Written by award-winning playwright Willy Russell, few musicals have been received with such acclaim as the multi-award-winning Blood Brothers. Bill Kenwright's production surpassed 10,000 performances in London's West End.                            

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. The musical has since triumphed across the globe, completing sell out seasons in the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Japan, and scooping up four awards for Best Musical in London and seven Tony Award nominations on Broadway.   

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

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. 

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. The production made a triumphant return to the West End in 2023 with Sheridan Smith.

Spring 2026 Tour Dates

Bromley – Churchill Theatre
Wed 14 – Sat 17 January
Tickets: https://www.trafalgartickets.com/Churchill-Theatre

Crewe – Lyceum Theatre
Tue 20 – Sat 24 January
Tickets: https://www.crewelyceum.co.uk

Coventry – Belgrade Theatre
Tue 27 – Sat 31 January
Tickets: https://www.belgrade.co.uk

Guildford – Yvonne Arnaud Theatre
Tue 3 – Sat 7 February
Tickets: https://www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk

Brighton – Theatre Royal
Tue 10 – Sat 14 February
Tickets: https://www.brightontheatre.co.uk

Derry – Millennium Forum
Tue 17 – Sat 21 February
Tickets: https://www.millenniumforum.co.uk

Dublin – Bord Gáis Energy Theatre
Tue 24 February – Sat 7 March
Tickets: https://www.bordgaisenergytheatre.ie

Sunderland – Empire Theatre
Tue 17 – Sat 21 March
Tickets: https://www.sunderland-theatre.co.uk

Wellingborough – Castle Theatre
Tue 24 – Sat 28 March
Tickets: https://www.parkwoodtheatres.co.uk/castle-theatre

Hull – New Theatre
Tue 31 March – Sat 4 April
Tickets: https://www.hulltheatres.co.uk

Bournemouth – Pavilion Theatre
Tue 14 – Sat 18 April
Tickets: https://www.bournemouthpavilion.co.uk

High Wycombe – Wycombe Swan Theatre
Tue 21 – Sat 25 April
Tickets: https://www.trafalgartickets.com/wycombeswantheatre

Bradford – Alhambra Theatre
Tue 28 April – Sat 2 May
Tickets: https://www.bradford-theatres.co.uk

Hertford – The BEAM
Tue 5 – Sat 9 May
Tickets: https://www.beamhertford.co.uk

London – Richmond Theatre
Tue 12 – Sat 16 May
Tickets: https://www.atgtickets.com/richmondtheatre