Bill Kenwright’s Multi-Award-Winning Production Of Blood Brothers Cast Announced

Image by Jack Merriman

Bill Kenwright legendary, award-winning production of the international smash hit musical, Blood Brothers is making a welcome return to the Alhambra Theatre, Bradford from Tuesday 28th April – Saturday 2nd May 2026.

Vivienne Carlyle will continue as Mrs. Johnstone having gained widespread critical acclaim and nightly standing ovations on the show’s most recent tours. Kristofer Harding will play the Narrator, a role he first played in 2016 and returned to in the most recent 2025 tour.

Fresh from alternating the role of Elphaba in Wicked (Apollo Victoria) and covering Norma Desmond in Jamie Lloyd's production of Sunset Boulevard (Savoy), Laura Harrison returns to Blood Brothers. Laura previously played Donna Marie in the 2015 tour and is now taking on the role of Mrs Lyons.

Sean Jones and Joe Sleight will also be returning as the twin brothers, Mickey and Eddie and Gemma Brodrick will continue to play Linda.

Also reprising their roles are Michael Gillett (Sammy), Tim Churchill (Mr Lyons), Francesca Benton-Stace (Donna Marie/Miss Jones), Latesha Karisa (Brenda), Danny Knott (Perkins), Dominic Gore (Neighbour), Alex Harland (Policeman/Teacher) and Graeme Kinniburgh (Postman/Bus Conductor).

Written by award-winning playwright Willy Russell, few musicals have been received with such acclaim as the multi-award-winning Blood Brothers. Bill Kenwright’s production surpassed 10,000 performances in London’s West End, and has been affectionately christened the ‘Standing Ovation Musical’, as inevitably it “brings the audience cheering to its feet and roaring its approval” (Daily Mail).

This epic tale of Liverpool life started as a play, performed at a Liverpool comprehensive school in 1981, before opening at the Liverpool Playhouse in 1983. The musical has since triumphed across the globe, completing sell out seasons in the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Japan, and scooping up four awards for Best Musical in London and seven Tony Award nominations on Broadway.

Blood Brothers tells the captivating and moving tale of twins separated at birth, who grow up on the opposite sides of the tracks, only to meet again with tragic consequences.

When Mrs Johnstone, a young mother, is deserted by her husband and left to her own devices to provide for seven hungry children she takes a job as a housekeeper in order to make ends meet. It is not long before her brittle world crashes around her when she discovers herself to be pregnant yet again - this time with twins! In a moment of weakness and desperation, she enters a secret pact with her employer which leads inexorably to the show's shattering climax.

Willy Russell is one of this country's leading contemporary dramatists. His countless credits include Educating Rita and Shirley Valentine. Educating Rita, originally commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, enjoyed a two-year run in the West End and was made into a movie starring Michael Caine and Julie Walters. Shirley Valentine also made the move from stage to screen in an enormously popular film starring Pauline Collins and Tom Conti.

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Alhambra Theatre, Bradford

Tuesday 28 April – Saturday 2 May 2026

Eves 7.30pm; Wed & Thu mats 2pm & Sat mat 2.30pm

Tickets £20 - £52.50 Signed performance: Thu 30 April, 7.30pm Captioned performance: Fri 1 May, 7.30pm Audio Described performance: Sat 2 May, 2.30pm

Call the Box Office on 01274 432000 or visit bradford-theatres.co.uk

All prices shown include booking fees but are subject to postage charge if applicable. Bradford Theatres’ usual terms and conditions apply.