Blood Brothers The Musical

Blood Brothers

Blood Brothers Rating

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3

Ghostlight Theatre Co. is a community theatre group that enjoys pushing boundaries. Their latest offering, Blood Brothers, is a horror-tinged romp through 1960s England.

Blood Brothers is written by playwright Willy Russell, who is also the author of Educating Rita. The plot follows twin brothers, Eddie and Mickey, who split at birth and are raised in two different class spheres in the north of England, with consequences that rock their community.

The show’s main cast was mostly quite young and gaining valuable experience from the more seasoned actors in the crew- and they were clearly having a fantastic time on stage.

A standout performer with an absolutely gorgeous voice was Elissa Holswich. She merrily played the devilish narrator alongside a host of other minor roles with flair. Her voice is outstanding and such a highlight of the show.

The relationship between the neighbourhood children was both fun and well choreographed, with the show’s chorus shining in several song and dance sequences. The audience was also able to sympathise with belaboured single mum Mrs Johnston, played by Hannah Davis.

This is a long show, with a run time of almost 3 hours, including intervals. However, you’ll enjoy Blood Brothers if you enjoy musicals, especially those with some supernatural flair and 1960s themes and costumes.

It is currently showing at Theatre 102 in Redcliffe until May 4th, 2024. There is a small bar with snacks and drinks on-site, as well as plenty of parking.

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Vice CIty Fortitude Valley – Loot

Loot

Loot Rating

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10

A savagely witty journey awaits you with Ad Astra’s latest play, “Loot,” from the brilliant mind of the late Joe Orton. This hilarious farce never cowers from the dark or the simply outrageous and mixes tried and true political stances with the slapstick mayhem of a funeral (and bank heist) gone horribly wrong.

The location of the venue and the production of this kind of play in Fortitude Valley seems particularly apt owing to The Valley’s central role in Queensland’s corruption-filled history between the 1930s and 1980s. The production team must have worked overtime to find this gem during the play selection process.

This play itself was written in 1966 and has seen minimal changes to the original script. Its political message, tackling the corruption of the police force, got a few belly laughs from the crowd—some messages are timeless; what can I say? 1980s Fortitude Valley is calling. However, some jokes regarding women and other darker subject matter did meet with some audience grumbles. The story is definitely more well-suited for an adult demographic.

Although the story isn’t entirely timeless, the incredible cast carry this show proudly on their shoulders with their impeccable physicality and comedic timing. The standouts would definitely be Fiona Kennedy, who played the devious Fay, and Steven Grives as the hilariously corrupt Truscott. They drove the story along at an entrancing and rhythmic lightning pace, and many times, I found myself in stitches throughout the show at multiple points.

A huge accolade needs to be given to Lisa Hickey, who played the corpse of the late Mrs. McLeavey. Despite having no lines, her physical comedy was brilliantly comical. The entire cast truly committed to their characters and donned the most outrageous European accents, greatly complementing the melodramatic undertone of the story.

The theatre was smaller than expected, but the space was expertly used so that every square inch was stylishly accustomed, and absolutely nothing went to waste. Congratulations to the director, Jennifer Flowers, for spinning gold with this play; I will closely monitor what she does next.

I strongly encourage you to get tickets ASAP, as this show only runs until the 27th of April if you haven’t already. It’s absolutely worth watching, especially for those who want to feast their eyes on a clever, ridiculous, and dark extravaganza.

Sessions run from 7:30 pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings for the next two weekends, with matinee sessions running at 2 pm on Sunday 14th and 21st April.

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