10 December 2019
Newsdesk
Bill Kenwright’s ‘Dazzling’ (Sunday Telegraph) production of the international smash hit musical Blood Brothers continues into Spring 2020 from 4 February 2020 at Theatre Royal, Brighton. This iconic musical has been visiting theatres across the country throughout 2019, performing to sell-out houses and receiving standing ovations.
‘The definitive Mrs Johnstone’ (Manchester Evening News) Lyn Paul continues in the iconic role for her final performances. Lyn first took on the role in 1997 and has continued to lead the company on numerous tours across the country, including the final West End performances at the Phoenix Theatre in 2012. She has also starred in the UK tour of Cabaret in 2013 as Fraulein Schneider, in Boy George’s musical Taboo and in Footloose - the Musical.
Lyn said: “I'm honoured to have been given the opportunity to undertake this "Farewell Tour" by my good friend, Bill Kenwright. It's such a privilege to be able to play Mrs Johnstone one final time”.
Lyn rose to fame in the early 1970s as a member of the New Seekers. She was the featured vocalist on their 1972 Eurovision Song Contest entry, ‘Beg, Steal or Borrow’ and lead vocalist on the 1974 number-one hit ‘You Won’t Find Another Fool Like Me’. The groups biggest hit was ‘I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing’, adapted from an advertising jingle for Coca-Cola, which sold over 20 million copies and remains one of the 100 best-selling singles in the UK.
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 four awards for best musical in London and seven Tony Award nominations on Broadway, Blood Brothers is simply ‘Unmissable and unbeatable’ (The Spectator).
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, 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 such a 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.
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.
Bill Kenwright presents
BLOOD BROTHERS
By Willy Russell
Directed by Bob Tomson and Bill Kenwright
Designed by Andy Walmsley Sound Designed By Dan Samson
Musical Direction by Tim Whiting Lighting Designed by Nick Richings
BLOOD BROTHERS – SPRING 2020 TOUR DATES
Tuesday 4 – Saturday 8 February Box Office: 0844 871 7650
Theatre Royal, Brighton Website: www.atgtickets.com/brighton
Tuesday 11 – Saturday 15 February Box Office: 0844 871 7651
Richmond Theatre Website: www.atgticket.com/richmond
**Tuesday 18– Saturday 29 February Box Office: 0844 847 2455
Bord Gais Energy Theatre, Dublin Website: www.bordgaisenergytheatre.ie
**Tuesday 3 – Saturday 7 March Box Office: 02871264455
Millennium Forum Theatre Website: www.millenniumforum.co.uk
Tuesday 10 – Saturday 14 March Box Office: 0300 300 0035
The Auditorium, Grimsby Website: www.grimsbyauditorium.org.uk
Tuesday 17– Saturday 21 March Box Office: 024 7655 3055
Belgrade Theatre. Coventry Website: www.belgrade.co.uk
Tuesday 24– Saturday 28 March Box Office: 01902 429212
Wolverhampton Grand Theatre Website: www.grandtheatre.co.uk
Tuesday 31 March – Saturday 4 April Box Office: 0844 871 764
New Victoria Theatre, Woking Website: www.atgtickets.com/woking
Tuesday 7 – Saturday 11 April Box Office: 01543 412121
Garrick Theatre, Lichfield Website: www.lichfieldgarrick.com
**Mrs Johnstone to be played by Rebecca Storm
