Blood Brothers: Willy Russell.

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Blood Brothers: Willy Russell

   Blood Brothers is a tale of two twin brothers separated at birth because the mother was too poor to have both, she strikes a deal with a richer woman who is possibly infertile, in a trade of human life. The two boys grow up unaware of each other, then one day the boys meet and become good friends and finally “blood brothers”, the biological mother of both, Mrs Johnstone, discovers hers sons new best friend, Eddy, is in fact her son. She tells him never to come near Mickey (the other twin), her or the estate she is living on again. Mrs Lyons (Eddy’s ‘adoptive’ mother) then also finds out the two boys have met and in a state of paranoia decides they must move to the country to remove the risk of the two boys ever finding out that they are brothers, but by some twist of fate the Johnstone family are moved to the country, in the same place as the Lyon family, by the council. But the twins don’t meet straight away, as Eddy attends boarding school. Then one day, whilst on the meadows they meet again and recognise each other. For years they are best friends, but then Eddy goes to university and everything changes. Mickey gets his high school sweetheart, Linda, pregnant, and marries her. But then it all goes wrong for Mickey and Linda. Mickey is made redundant, and gets into crime to get money, but then is caught and sentences to 7 years in prison, whilst in prison he becomes depressed and becomes dependent on anti-depressants. Linda is in despair, and turns to life-long friend, Eddy to help. They meet up, it starts as a friendship but a romance buds. Mrs Lyons intent on ruining life for the Johnstone’s goes to Mickey's workplace and tells him of the close relationship between Eddie and Linda. Mickey, delirious from his pills runs from work to his house and takes a loaded gun to the Council to confront Eddie. He runs into the middle of a meeting and holds the gun to Eddie's head. He accuses him of getting everything in life, even Linda, whilst he got nothing. Mickey, extremely upset and confused, breaks down crying. Mrs Johnstone runs into the Council Chamber begging Mickey to not shoot Eddie, revealing that they are in fact twin brothers. At this news Mickey starts screaming that he wishes he had been given away so he could be Eddie. At this point the gun accidentally goes off killing Eddie. At the same time the armed police shoot and kill Mickey.

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   I think the main issue surrounding Blood Brothers is the class hierarchy we have in Britain. It seems that Mickey (the working class twin) seems to have all the misfortune, such as losing his job and becoming addicted to anti-depressants, whereas Eddy (the middle/upper class son) seems to have it all, even towards the end, Mickey’s wife. A grim narrator takes centre stage at the end and asks if it is fate, superstition, or "that thing we have come to call class," which is really responsible. Given that the play was written in the economically depressed, socially divided Great ...

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