BLOOD BROTHERS across the world...

Blood Brothers is one of the longest running musicals in the West End and a massive success all over the world from Broadway to Australia. This page is a celebration of some of the images from different productions during the past twenty or so years and shows how different directors, actors and set designers interpret Willy Russell's masterpiece. Again, this page contains lots of images and photos and may take time to load.

BLOOD BROTHERS -

GERMANY

DAVID BURROWS

"This was an enjoyable experience working with excellent, well motivated technical staff in all departments in a well equipped, modern German theatre."

For the German première of Blood Brothers theatre set designer David Burrows created a stunningly effective set.

"The photos through the show, beginning with the children fighting and playing in the run down area of Liverpool in the fifties. They were represented by a large wall centre stage with a central door of Mrs Johnson's house. The cyclorama was unremittingly red throughout up to the end of the first act."

The finale of Act One...

The news has reached Mrs Johnson's family that they will be re-housed on a new estate in the country - 'Oh Bright New Day'. Big scene change. The central wall collapses upstage, (forming a raked main acting area for the rest of the show), trees grow up through the stage floor, (including the opening of the central doorway of the central wall), fanning out Christmas decoration style, the two side ramps splay out diagonally, the side walls disappear left and right and the cyclorama cross fades from red to an intense blue."
DAVID BURROWS

In the blue atmosphere of the second act, the space opened up and the slums were replaced by sixties high rise apartment blocks represented by two orange, triangular in plan, towers of doors which, very slowly and continuosly, opened during the act. The insides of the doors were painted a rich blue. Gradually a metal bridge descended, also a series of street lights dropped in, arranged to create a perspective, and an internally lit street sign. An effect was thus attempted to increase a sense of urbanisation through the sixties and the set was incrementally transformed into an impression of 'motorway'.

DAVID BURROWS

"The show was very successful, selling out immediately and several additional performances were hastily arranged during the run." Heilbronn, Germany 1992

BLOOD BROTHERS -

JAPAN

GLEN WALFORD

Glen has just directed a new production of the musical 'Blood Brothers' by Willy Russell for Fuji Television for the Aoyama Theatre, Tokyo and Osaka, Japan.

BLOOD BROTHERS -

HOLLAND