Belfast Gets Ready to Meet the Blood Brothers
Leading lady Vivienne Carlyle shares why Blood Brothers continues to capture hearts. Don’t miss it live at the Grand Opera House Belfast – book now at www.goh.co.uk.
For people who are new to the show, what is Blood Brothers all about?
Blood Brothers is by the amazing Willy Russell, who wrote the book and also wrote the music, and it’s about a mother named Mrs Johnstone who is trying to make ends meet. She’s very poor. Her husband leaves her and she’s left with seven children and then discovers she’s pregnant again.
When she finds out she’s having twins, Mrs Johnstone confides in her employer Mrs Lyons, who is childless and persuades her to give her one of the babies. Fast-forward to seven years later, the two boys end up meeting, and it’s about their story as well as their mother’s and how their lives are intertwined even though they’re separated.
They’re brought back together with tragic results, but it’s not just a heartbreaking show. There are huge comedy elements in it and you have adults playing kids, which also strikes the imagination of our younger audiences. You become connected to these characters and see them grow up, following their journey. It’s a very interesting piece of theatre and, in my opinion, one of the best shows I’ve ever performed in.
What do you like about the character of Mrs Johnstone?
I love her strength and her resilience. No matter how hard life is for her, and despite her guilt for what she’s done, she still tries to do the best she can with as much grace as she can muster.
In spite of everything that happens, she still rises up at the end. I love that, and I think it’s a great message for us in life because that’s what we have to do. We’ve all had terrible things happen in our lives and it’s about how we deal with them, recover, move on and live the rest of our lives.
Can you relate to her in any way?
Both of my parents were very encouraging in terms of how, when you have a problem, you work through it. They set the bar high for me — we don’t run away from our problems, we stand up to them, do the best we can, keep going and never take no for an answer.
I was very lucky that they instilled that in me, and in that way I can relate to Mrs Johnstone because I think I’m quite strong. I’m a feisty Scot and Mrs Johnstone is a feisty Scouser. She’s a beautiful character to play.
What’s your history with the show and what’s it been like returning to it for the UK tour?
I played Mrs Lyons in 2006, when Maureen Nolan was playing Mrs Johnstone, and I was also her understudy so I got to play the lead for my first time back then. In 2007 and 2008 I played Mrs Johnstone for the Scottish dates of the tour, then returned to the role in 2012 for nine months at the Phoenix Theatre in London.
Being back in the show now is just amazing and hopefully I’m bringing new things to it. You grow as a person and I feel like a completely different person now. Emotionally, I’d say I’m tougher in some ways and more vulnerable in others. As an actor, you use your life experiences and try and dig deep. Our director Bob Thomson wants us to be as raw, authentic and real as we can possibly be.
What makes Mrs Johnstone such an iconic musical theatre character?
She starts out at around age 18, so you get to play this huge arc of a beautiful story and journey. Life keeps throwing things at her and she keeps rising. She keeps getting knocked down again but she keeps going.
I think that’s what makes Mrs Johnstone so relatable because that’s what we all do. People watching it – and not just women, but men as well – go, “Well, that’s life, isn’t it?”
How’s the reaction been from audiences on the tour so far?
They laugh, they cry and they are very emotional at the end. It really touches people, a lot of whom come back to see it again. We get a lot of return visitors who have seen the show many times over the years. They come back, they see a different cast and they fall in love with it all over again in a different way.
What’s the nicest bit of feedback you’ve received?
One time we were in Skegness and a boy aged around 14 or 15 had been to see it with his school the day before. He brought back his mum and dad the following night, and I was so touched by that because he had felt such a connection to the piece.
He was really quite overwhelmed by it and I just felt, “How fantastic is it that the show is still relevant to this age group?” There’s not a mobile phone in sight and none of the technology that we have today because it starts in the 50s and goes through to the 80s.
Blood Brothers premiered in 1983. Why do you think it has endured for all these years?
I think the story is really unique and gripping, and the characters are very strongly drawn. No matter who you are — whether you’re in your teens, your 30s, your 70s or whatever stage in life you’re at — you’ll come and see the show and there’ll be someone you connect with. You go on their journey and it moves you emotionally.
How would you sum up the magic of musical theatre?
Theatre is live, so you immediately connect with it and it’s got that sense of urgency. The stakes are higher when you’re watching something unravel in front of you — you can’t press pause like you can with streaming.
Anywhere there’s live theatre and live music there’s a level of excitement you don’t get anywhere else. It’s like coming together as a community and watching something that bonds you. And with a musical, the emotions are heightened. As a performer, when I’m on stage it’s music that moves me in an almost primal way.
