Blood Brothers: Musical and Political Play Essay

Submitted By nguessana98
Words: 568
Pages: 3

Two weeks ago we went to the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry city centre to see Blood Brothers. When we walked into the theatre, I noticed that the proscenium arch stage was slanted which put everything on the stage in perspective. There was no live orchestra, and all the sound travelled easily throughout the room as it was quite a small theatre. In my opinion the plays Genre was a musical play but at the same time it could be a political play because of the difference in class but at the same time it could be a tragic play because of the way that the scenario is set.
Blood Brothers was written in the early 1980s when there was a lot of social division and political Discussions. It is based in Liverpool, Northern England where there was high un-employment rates in the city. It is about two families that live in Liverpool but are from very different backgrounds. One family (the Lyons) are very wealthy and have a very good quality of life although Mrs Lyons is unable to have children. The second family (the Johnston’s) on the other hand don't have a lot of money and live on a council estate. Mrs Johnston has lots of children but cannot afford to keep them all. Mrs Johnston has twins and gives one to Mrs Lyons. The story is about these two boys as they become friends with each other, but they do not know that they are in fact brothers given away at birth. At the beginning of the play we saw some men dressed in black suits putting two bodies into coffins, however the gauze curtain was still not raised. This seemed like the past and present of the story, as this first scene was the inevitable end. I personally did not think it ruined the storyline by showing the end at the beginning, as I forgot this scene, and did not realise how vital it was to the production. I think it gave the whole play a more dramatic effect learning, that you had known the outcome from the very beginning. I think this scene proves that you cannot escape your fate. All the scenes were set in the same location; and the set design remained the same for