Willy Russells phenomenal West End hit musical succeeds for many reasons, but most of all because it has great tunes and in the final moments will make the hardest amongst us blub like babies. The premise is simple a Liverpudlian working class mum finds out she is having twins and, unable to cope with her already large family, gives one away to the wealthy woman she cleans for. The ensuing entwining of the lives of these lads, who meet each other as boys and become blood brothers, is almost classical in its use of the tragic form.What we get here, performed by youngsters from Take 3 Theatre Company, is the play version that is the story without the songs (though confusingly it begins with the same opening song as the musical). When the young girl playing Mrs Johnston began to sing my hear sunk, as very little came out, but what a transformation when the song ended and the story began. Most of these very young actors are really good committed and truthful, and not displaying that awful tendency some amateur actors of all ages have to shuffle about aimlessly or keep looking at the audience. However the direction is pretty shambolic, with blackouts in which we hear furniture bump about and no sense of how placing actors in a space is not a random thing. This is a shame because there is really good work from the cast. That they ultimately fail to make us laugh or cry as professionals might is simply a matter of their youth. This is no kids show, its a meatier piece than one would think. Russell is a real voice-of-the-people kind of writer, perhaps one of a dying breed. He dares to unashamedly point out that life is staggeringly unfair and that issues of class and poverty still need to be addressed. He is also forensic in his ability to hone in the causes of things. Mrs Johnston is set up as crazily superstitious from the very beginning, believing amongst other things that putting shoes on a table can bring catastrophic karma. What she doesnt realise is that the tragedy that unfolds has been precipitated by the fact her Catholic husband wont use contraception for fear of going to hell, surely as absurd a belief as not walking under ladders.This production doesnt get close to some of these complexities and resonances, but if youve never seen this story its worth catching the show if only for the gusto of these young actors and Russells writing.
