Blood Brothers GCSE Drama

General Information

• Title: Blood Brothers
• Playwright: Willy Russell
• Written: 1982
• Set: 1960's, which we know due to Mrs Johnstones references to Marilyn Monroe. But is relevant to every day life still.
• Location: Liverpool, England.
• Genre: Comic musical tragedy

Personal (Specifically Acting) Example

• Skill:Acting
• Character:Linda
• Accent: Liverpudlian to show setting
• Body language:...
• Extract:Page 75- End, From the end of Act 2
• Style: Teenager playing teenager, and young adult (17, 24)
• Skill: Surrealism, Brechtian due to the split scene, mime and the narrator
• Preparation: Reading the entire play, watching the play to gain inspiration
• Performance space: Blank studio space
• Staging: Two tiered blocks
• Costuming: "Blacks"- requires more audience participation
• Lighting: Basic floodlighting
• Technical equipment: Music to set the tone and add tension to the scene

Mickey goes on a 'job' with his older brother Sammy, as a lookout, but Sammy ends up killing someone, which gets blamed on Mickey. Mickey goes to jail, and gets addicted to his depression pills

Linda tries to get their lives sorted, and with the help of Eddie gets Mickey a job and a house together. Mickey however won't give up his pills and is aggressive, so Linda turns to Eddie and they have an affair.

Eddie's deranged mother Mrs Lyons tells Mickey about the affair, who has finally come off the pills to be with Linda. He runs to the town hall where Eddie is, with a gun. He points the gun at Eddie and speaks of his jealousy, but says that he doesn't think the gun is loaded. He is warned by the police to put the weapon down or he will be shot. Mrs Johnstone runs in, screaming that they are twins. By accident Mickey shoots Eddie, who in turn is killed by the police.

Two twins Mickey and Eddie (Edward) were separated at birth, due to their mother (Mrs Johnstone) being tricked by the woman who employed her (Mrs Lyons) through superstition to give her a child, that if twins once parted find out they they were twins they will both die.

Mickey lived his live in poverty with his biological mother, whereas Eddie lived a rich life with Mrs Lyons. They meet as friends, throughout their lives, and continue to be friends (even though both mothers forbid it.) Mrs Lyons even moved to get her son away, but by a twist of fate, that is where Mrs johnstone is moved to also. They also both fall in love with Linda, a girl from Mickey's estate, who loves them both in return, however ends us as Mickey's girlfriend.

When Eddie leaves to go to university, Linda finds out she is pregnant with Mickey's baby, so they get married. However Mickey loses his job, and in the three months Eddie is away becomes depressed. 

Quotes - To support what your saying or to give examples where you can

Why- You get marks for the explanation of what you've done

Examples- Think of bits in your piece which could be used as examples

Have prepared:

• How you got into character and showed your character
• What you think went well
• How rehearsals went and an example of something you improved
• How well you think it went 
• What you're strengths and weaknesses were
• How you would improve it

If you get REALLY stuck, just make it up. Nobody will check, but only use it as a last resort because it might not be right.