Hit musical Blood Brothers may be set in the 1960s, but relatable characters and themes create connections spanning the decades.
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That’s what Matthew Tomlin, who plays lead role Edward ‘Eddy’ Lyons in the Encore Theatre Company production.
The theatre was shrouded in darkness before spotlights revealed Eddy and his twin brother, played by Chris Jackson.
RELATED STORIES: Turning back time for Encore Theatre Company’s Blood Brothers
Unaware they were separated at birth, Eddy and his twin brother Michael ‘Mickey’ Johnstone wander out of their houses and onto the stage set in the streets of Liverpool.
It’s one of their first times performing with the finished set at the Earl Arts Centre, only days away from opening night.
Tomlin and Jackson said they could not be more excited to be bringing the story to life.
Tomlin has been performing with Encore Theatre Company for a couple of years.
“I don’t think I’ve ever fell in love with the script like I have with this show,” Tomlin said.
It was the story arch and flow of the script, which captivated his attention.
“It’s a very human story and it tells the tale of class difference,” Tomlin said.
Their mother Mrs Johnstone, played by Rae Smith, a mother of nine children, is faced with a heartbreaking decision which she lives through each day in hope and hopelessness.
Narrator, played by Matthew Garwood, set the scenes, “he’s like the little Jiminy Cricket in the back of your mind”, Tomlin said.
When they first walk onto the stage, they are seven-years-old.
The brothers age in front of their audience’s eyes as the story arcs over more than two decades of their lives
As for how the actors prepare for the transformation, Tomlin said, “There has been a lot of pieces of paper written on, scrunched together and thrown out,”
Jackson said planning was key as “you can’t carry through a movement or a gesture that you made your seven-year-old gesture”.
“As a performer, you need to be very on top of that and have an awareness of what your body is doing.”
Blood Brothers is Jackson’s first musical in more than 10 years.
“It shows what a person can do when they’re put under certain pressures,” he said.
“It’s one hell of a story, there’s a lot of really beautiful songs thrown in so the audience is going to be in for a treat.”
- Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers will be performed by Encore Theatre Company at the Earl Arts Centre during a three-week season. Opening night is October 27 and tickets are available by calling 63233666. For more information, visit encoretheatre.org.au