Act One
The Scene is set in about 1960. Mrs Johnstone is unable to pay the bills and cannot support her family after her husband leaves her, so she takes a job as a cleaner for a rich local couple, Mr and Mrs Lyons. Soon after she finds out she is pregnant but she can barely afford to have the child.
The wealthy Mrs. Lyons is desperate for a baby but is unable to conceive, and would like to adopt a child but her husband does not agree. Mrs Johnstone then finds out that she is going to have twins and explains to Mrs Lyons that she cannot afford to look after two more babies. Mrs Lyons then suggests that Mrs Johnstone give one of the babies to her. Mrs Johnstone although apprehense, agrees to this and is made to swear on The Bible to keep to the deal. Mrs Johnstone has the twins (Mickey and Edward), but then immediately regrets having agreed to give one away. She lies to her other children, saying that the other baby had died and gone to heaven.
Mrs. Johnstone continues to work for Mrs Lyons, but Mrs Lyons soon feels that Mrs Johnstone is paying a little too much attention to the child that she has given up to her so she fires Mrs Johnstone, who wants to take the baby with her, but Mrs Lyons then plays on Mrs Johnstone's superstitions by telling her that "if twins separated at birth learn that they were once one of a pair they will both immediately die". Mrs Johnstone refuses to take the money that Mrs Lyons gave her and leaves without either child or cash.
After seven years Mickey, the son Mrs. Johnstone kept, by chance meets Edward, the other twin, and after learning they share the same birthday, the two boys make a pact to become blood brothers, with Mickey calling Edward: Eddie. Mrs Johnstone finds them together and sends Eddie away, telling him not to come round again or else the "Bogey-man" will get him. Later in the day Mickey goes to Eddie's house, only to be thrown out by Mrs Lyons. She and Eddie argue on the subject, and Eddie swears at her. Mrs Lyons slaps him and immediately regrets her reaction. She realises that he has learned to swear from Mickey.
Mickey is playing with some local kids including his friend Linda. Afterwards, he takes her to see Eddie, and all three of them sneak off to play, but are caught by a policeman when about to throw some stones through a window. Mrs Lyons tries to find Eddie as she is worried about Eddie's friendship with Mickey, as she has herself started to believe the superstition that she had made up andtold Mrs Johnstone. She decides to move and persuades her husband who realises that she is becoming ill. When Eddie says goodbye, Mrs Johnstone gives him a locket with a picture of herself and Mickey, as the boys go their separate ways.
The scene then shifts to the time towards the end of the 1960s when the Johnstone family are being rehoused from their condemned inner city slum area of Liverpool to a brand new council house in the overspill town of Skelmersdale.
- Act Two
The plot moves forward to the mid 1970s and Eddie, Mickey and Linda are now all 14 years old. The Johnstones' lives have improved since moving, and they have not seen Eddie since they left Liverpool.. Mickey has a crush on Linda, who is obviously keen on him too, but Mickey does not know how to act with her. The pair are suspended after mouthing off to their teacher. Eddie is also suspended from his boarding school for refusing to give up Mrs Johnstone's locket to a teacher, but he will not tell his mother who it was from. Mrs Lyons sees Mrs Johnstone near her home and her worries are suddenly renewed. Eddie and Mickey bump into each other in a field, but do not recognize each other. They then become friends again, each wanting to be like the other. They finally realize who the other is and meet up with Linda. Mrs Lyons then flies into a rage and tries to kill Mrs Johnstone, but she couldn't and Mrs Johnstone just showed her out of the door.
Four years pass, and an 18-year-old Eddie has feelings for Linda, but won't act on them as he knows Mickey likes her too. Eddie then leaves for university, but not before encouraging Mickey to ask Linda out. During Eddie's absence, around the turn of the 1980s, Mickey is suddenly made redundant from his factory job due to the recession which forces him to sign on the dole. He soon discovers that Linda is pregnant, and they decide to get married. Eddie returns at Christmas ready to party and have fun, but Mickey realizes that they have now become very different; after a small fight with Eddie, they part. To get money, Mickey assists his brother Sammy in a robbery that goes wrong, and becomes an accessory to a murder committed by Sammy and he is sentenced to seven years in prison.#
While in prison, Mickey falls into a deep depression and even when released early for good behaviour, he is still dependent on anti-depressants, and he turns away from Linda. She then contacts Eddie, who is now a councillor, who gets them their own house and also gets Mickey a job. Linda worries about Mickey and meets up with Eddie. Mrs Lyons sees them both together and tells Mickey about it. Mickey, distraught over Eddie and Linda's innocent meeting, grabs the gun that Sammy hid before he got arrested and then storms down to the council offices to confront Eddie.
Eddie is giving a speech when Mickey storms in with the gun. Mickey asks why, even though Eddie has everything and Mickey has nothing, Eddie would want to take away the one good thing that Mickey had - Linda. Eddie denies this intention, and the police enter, and demand that Mickey put down the gun, Mickey begins to lower the gun but then Mrs.Johnstone runs in to attempt to stop Mickey from shooting Eddie, and tells the two brothers the truth. Mickey despairs that he was not the one given away, because then he could have had the life given to Eddie. Mickey, distraught, gestures carelessly with the gun towards Eddie. This sad story ends when the police misinterpret his action and shoot Mickey as he himself accidentally shoots Eddie, killing him. Mrs Lyons's superstitious prediction has come true, and the Narrator questions whether social class was more to blame than mere superstition.
Theatre tickets to Blood Brothers at the Phoenix Theatre in London for all performances including cheap packages and discount offers are available to book securely through this website.
moving tale of twins who, separated at birth, grow up on opposite sides of the social divide, only to meet again with tragic consequences. The show has been hailed as one of the best west end musicals of all time winning four awards for best musical in London and seven Tony Award nominations on Broadway.
