EVENT: Willy Russell's Blood Brothers

The Graduate Dramatic Society will present the enthralling drama of Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers at the Dolphin Theatre UWA, for two weeks only, in September/October 2004.

Twin brothers are separated at birth. One stays with his working class mother and seven siblings and lives in poverty, the other is passed off as the son of a wealthy woman and enjoys the comforts of a middle class life and education. The boys grow up as friends, in ignorance of their fraternity, until inevitably conflict arises.

The action of the play, which covers the years 1953 to 1980, follows the lives of the twin boys, inextricably linked by birth but separated by background and upbringing. In Blood Brothers, Russell (Shirley Valentine, Educating Rita) highlights the degree to which success in life is determined not by innate qualities but by the privileges, or disadvantages, of our upbringing. This is a story of destiny which has captivated audiences since its first production in 1986; a potent mix of love, hate and prejudice set to the backdrop Liverpool over a time span of some twenty years.

Blood Brothers is highly demanding for its nine actors, who must portray the lives of their characters over 20 years, interact with different environments, and become increasingly caught up in the conflict caused by the brothers’ initial separation.

The Graduate Dramatic Society presents a cast of both established and emerging Perth actors who, under the direction of Hal Davies create the tensions demanded by Russell’s tightly woven script.

Blood Brothers is not to be missed by lovers of classic contemporary theatre.

Matinee: Staurday 25 September, 2004

Tickets: $18 reg/ $12 conc./$10 schools