Blood Brothers

Willy Russell is a playwright and songwriter, and one of the most-produced writers of his time. His plays and musicals for stage and TV including John, Paul, George, Ringo ... and Bert (1974), Breezeblock Park (1975), One for the Road (1976), Our Day Out (television 1977; stage musical version 1983), Stags and Hens (1978; filmed as Dancin' thru the Dark, 1990), Educating Rita (1979), Blood Brothers (1981; musical version 1983), and Shirley Valentine (1986). Rebecca Hillman is Senior Lecturer at the University of Exeter, UK. Her research and teaching concerns performance as political activism and agitprop theatre. She focuses on theatre made by activists and trade unions in Britain since the 1960s.

Chronology

Commentary

Socio-political landscape: Britain under Margaret Thatcher
Themes: class and identity, family, nature v nurture, superstition v materialism, economic hardship (including strikes, debt, unemployment, cuts to the arts), fate
Characters: Mrs Johnston, Eddie, Mickey, Linda, Mrs Lyons
Dramatic devices: twins as framing device, monologue, the play as musical & rise of the mega-musical
Design: lighting, sounds, costume, set, props
Similar works (kitchen sink drama, working-class originated theatre& TV)
Willy Russell: other works
Production history, including first performance of the play in a classroom and Blood Brothers productions across the world (eg. South African production, 2013)

PLAYTEXT

Notes to the play