The Stage

Blood Brothers

Published Monday 23 November 2009 at 11:35 by Catherine Usher

Mel C of Spice Girls fame was always championed as the best singer in the group, but the question remained - was she only comparatively good, or could she hold her own amongst more serious vocal competition?

Melanie Chisholm (Mrs Johnstone) and Narrator (Philip Stewart) in Blood Brothers at the Phoenix Theatre

The answer is that yes she can - not only does she have a strong, sweet-sounding voice, she’s also able to convey an admirable depth of emotion, which is handy when portraying Mrs Johnstone, the hard-working, downtrodden, tragic heroine of Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers. Poignant power ballads such as Easy Terms and Tell Me it’s Not True are her forte and, of course, there is the added bonus that her natural speaking voice is Liverpudlian, so there are no awkward accent attempts to contend with.

The rest of the cast are also extremely impressive, particularly the brilliant, menacing Narrator (Philip Stewart), thundering his warnings about shoes on the table and devils knocking at the door. As for the twins, separated as infants, Sean Jones’ Mickey is most enjoyable when he is playing a small, streetwise boy, spitting and swearing, whereas Richard Reynard is better suited to the older Eddie - posh, awkward teenager and then a sensitive young man.

Full of emotion, humour and ultimate tragedy, Blood Brothers is a classic musical that may well be too sentimental for the more cynical of West End audiences. But Chisholm is a brilliant addition to the cast, not only in terms of her celebrity status - which is sure to reignite interest in the 21-year-old production - but also for the quality and passion she brings to the role.