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Moberly’s House Play 2009

Blood Brothers

In my mind, Moberly's 'Blood Brothers' was the 'Slumdog Millionaire' of Clifton's House Play week. And that's not just a nifty line to catch your attention – there really are several strong similarities. Both are part musical extravaganzas. Both are part hard-hitting dramas. Both feature a fantastic ensemble cast, with a few standout performances. Both focus on the nature vs. nurture theories. Both won numerous awards at their respective award ceremonies. The list goes on.

That last similarity is of particular note – Moberly's won several of the major awards, including Best Musical, Best Actor (for Callum Paine) and Best Production. Moberly's managed to entertain, amuse and shock, whilst still reminding us of the dangers associated with rivalry, selfishness and jealousy, culminating in what was arguably the best play of the week.

I couldn't help but notice that the programme for 'Blood Brothers' contained fewer names than the programme for 'Into the Valleys', Moberly's contribution last year. 'Blood Brothers' was a close-knit affair, with very strong performances from the small ensemble cast, and benefited enormously as a result. Overall the cast delivered at a very high standard – indeed, one of the highest out of all the houses – but a few performances stood out.

Callum Paine's Mickey was a deserved winner of the Best Actor award, as he really hammered home the desperation of working class Liverpudlian life. Equally impressive was Eddie, played by Olly Haran-Jones, whose awkward, upper class demeanour provided great contrast with Mickey's loutish confidence. It was the disparity between these two lead roles, and the way the actors took advantage of the differences between them, that truly distinguished their acting.

However, a mention must also be made of two male-playing-female performances that were as good, if not better, than anything similar seen before in the Redgrave. James Hanson excelled as Mrs Johnstone, a performance that drew both an award and much critical acclaim from the judges. Mrs Johnstone symbolised the relentless struggle that life can become, and her forlorn recollections of better days were very well delivered. But just as good was Linda, played by Joe Baio, whose role was carefully balanced between the characters of Mickey and Eddie. Joe had most of the laughs, which were pulled off very successfully, but he also had several sombre scenes towards the end, and the switch in tone was well handled. Overall, however, the most impressive aspect of the acting was the management of the various character arcs: the actors changed their styles as their characters aged, and it was all done very convincingly. Much credit must therefore go to the directors, Callum and Olly, who had to orchestrate all of these character transformations.

Although it was the acting that stood out, other parts of the production were not neglected. The set was well planned, using the two halves of the stage to represent two neighbourhoods, although a little more decoration would not have gone amiss. The lighting and sound were also done proficiently – with the dramatic use of red lighting at the end, a particular highlight.

'Blood Brothers' was undoubtedly the best Moberly's production that I have seen, and winning so many major awards, especially Best Production, was a deserved achievement.

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