Carnivals of the Heart to Stage BLOOD BROTHERS at Artscape Arena

Carnivals of the Heart, in association with Samuel French, will present Willy Russell's BLOOD BROTHERS at the Artscape Arena in Cape Town this February.

A contemporary nature versus nurture story, BLOOD BROTHERS revolves around fraternal twins Mickey and Eddie, who were separated at birth, one being raised in a wealthy family while the other being raised in a poor family. Although their different backgrounds take them to opposite ends of the social spectrum, one becoming a councillor and the other unemployed and in prison, they become friends. When they both fall in love with the same girl, the resultant tear in their friendship and leading to the sad and unexpected climax.

The well-known and critically acclaimed director of many local amateur productions, Darryl Spijkers (THE WIZARD OF OZ, GREASE and OF MICE AND MEN) will stage this production, which remains true to the original Liverpool-based script. Newcomer Kathy Lin heads up the musical direction of the score, which includes songs like the popular "Marilyn Monroe", the remarkable "Easy Terms" and the emotionally charged hit "Tell Me It's Not True".

The cast consists of Michelle Galloway, Garth Kitching, Liam Walsh, Jordyn Linklater, Nicolette Fernandes, Cameron Murray, Anne Walsh, Nick Plummer and Nigel Sweet, along with a small cast of supporting actors.

Although the original West End production of BLOOD BROTHERS was a modest success, it won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical. The 1988 West End revival, however, ran for 24 years, becoming the third longest-running musical production in West End history. Few musicals have received quite such acclaim as the multi-award winning BLOOD BROTHERS. Bill Kenwright's production surpassed 10,000 performances in London's West End, one of only three musicals ever to achieve that milestone.

BLOOD BROTHERS runs from 3 - 11 February, with tickets available from Computicket.