★★★★★

IT TAKES a special kind of performance to plunge 1,000 people into complete silence just moments after they were all clutching their stomachs with laughter.

Blood Brothers is just that – special. Josh Capper as Mickey is brilliant and effortlessly floats from impressionable child to happy-go-lucky 18-year-old to a troubled ex-con in a performance that would usually require three actors.

Ably supported by Mark Hutchinson as Eddie, the two fully grown men growing up together help the comedic value of the show flow from gag to gag.

But the presence of the ominous Dean Chisnall throughout as the all-seeing narrator reminds the audience of the tale’s sinister nature. As the show reaches its climax it puts the audience right at the heart of the pivotal scene, just to give it even more depth.

Lyn Paul as Mrs Johnstone is the pick of a talented cast leaving a lasting feeling of compassion towards the character and her strife, many mirroring the tears she sheds. It was rightly given a lengthy standing ovation, and if the standards can be maintained it should get one every time they tread the boards.