Bill Kenwright’s legendary, award-winning production of the international smash hit musical, Blood Brothers, returns to Oxford Playhouse this autumn. It will kick off the venue’s season of highly acclaimed musicals and drama on Tuesday 22 to Saturday 26 September.  

With casting recently announced, Vivienne Carlyle will return to the role of Mrs Johnstone, having received nightly standing ovations for her rendition of the finale song Tell Me It’s Not True. Kristofer Harding will reprise his role as the Narrator (Jesus Christ Superstar/Evita), Sean Jones and Joe Sleight will continue as the twin brothers, Mickey and Eddie. 

The cast also introduces Jamil Abbasi (Neighbour), Sarah Moss (Donna Marie/Miss Jones), Amelia Poggenpoel (Brenda) and Jack Anthony Smart (Perkins). Reprising their roles will be Tim Churchill (Mr Lyons), Michael Gillette (Sammy), Alex Harland (Policeman/Teacher) and Graeme Kinniburgh (Bus Conductor/ Postman).  

Written by award-winning playwright Willy Russell, few musicals have been received with such acclaim as the multi-award-winning Blood Brothers. Considered 'one of the best musicals ever' (Sunday Times), Bill Kenwright’s production surpassed 10,000 performances in London’s West End, and has been affectionately christened the ‘Standing Ovation Musical’, as inevitably it “brings the audience cheering to its feet and roaring its approval” (Daily Mail).     

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.