Blood Brothers

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Blood Brothers is a musical with book, lyrics, and music by Willy Russell.

The original text

A story about twins who were separated at birth, the one raised in a wealthy family, the other in a poor family.

Originally developed as a school play, the musical was first produced in 1983, going on to win the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical and a year-long national tour before returning for a revival in the West End in 1988. The revival ran for more than 24 years in the West End, finally closing in November 2012. It has toured internationally, on Broadway and elsewhere.

Translations and adaptations

A South African adaptation of the original was done by David Kramer in 2012, setting it in District Six in Cape Town.

Performance history in South Africa

2013: The Kramer version, produced by Pieter Toerien and Eric Abraham for Theatre on the Bay and The Fugard Theatre, opened at the Theatre on the Bay, Cape Town in September, transferring to the Montecasino Theatre in Johannesburg in November. Directed by Kramer with a cast that included Dean Balie, Ephraim Gordon, Carlo Daniels, Marlo Minnaar, Andréa Frankson, Shadley Schroeder, Junaid Booysen, Sue Pyler, Alistair Izobell, Lynelle Kenned, and Monique Rockman. Co-produced by Daniel Galloway and Renaye Kramer, with musical supervision by Alistair Izobell, video design by Matthew Kalil and Paul Kalil, lighting by Denis Hutchinson, costumes by Penny Simpson, sound effects by James Webb and sound design by The Red Hot Waves.

2014 The Toerien/Abraham production returned to Cape Town to play at The Fugard Theatre on 12 February.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Brothers_(musical)#South_African_adaptation

https://www.artlink.co.za/news_article.htm?contentID=32438

https://thefugard.com/archive/item/willy-russell-s-blood-brothers


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