Blood Brothers delays closure by two weeks
Theatre news
BLOOD Brothers has delayed its closure at the Phoenix Theatre by two weeks. Originally scheduled for October 27, it will now give its final performance on November 10, 2012.
Previously Posted: Blood Brothers, one of the West End’s best loved and longest running musicals, is scheduled to end its current London run at the Phoenix Theatre on Saturday, October 27, 2012.
Bill Kenwright’s production of Willy Russell’s Liverpool tale of the Johnstone twins, who are separated at birth and later reunited by a twist of fate, will have played over 10,000 performances in London, making it the third longest running musical ever to play the West End.
Hailed as one of the greatest musicals of all time, Blood Brothers has triumphed across the globe, scooping up no less than four Best Musical awards in London and seven Tony Award nominations on Broadway.
It has been affectionately christened the Standing Ovation Musical, for as Jack Tinker of the Daily Mail wrote: “it brings the audience cheering to its feet and roaring its approval”.
No stranger to change, its journey started as a school play, performed by a Liverpool comprehensive school in 1981. It opened at the Liverpool Playhouse in 1983 and transferred to the Lyric theatre for a short run.
It was then taken on by producer Bill Kenwright who opened a new production at the Albery theatre in 1988 to great acclaim, transferring it to the larger Phoenix theatre three years later. It has also enjoyed success on Broadway and across America and will continue to play all around the UK into 2013 and beyond.
A spokesperson for Bill Kenwright Ltd said “This is the end of a chapter, but by no means the end of Blood Brothers.”