“Blood Brothers” is a musical by Willy Russell. It is one of the longest-running works of musical theatre in history. The musical has a contemporary nature vs. nurture plot, revolving around fraternal twins who were separated at birth. The twins' different backgrounds take them to opposite ends of the social spectrum, one becoming an Oxbridge-graduated councilor and the other unemployed and imprisoned. Both fall in love with the same girl, with tragic consequences.
The play writer, Willy Russell was born a scout in Liverpool. He grew up in a working class family. After leaving school with one O-level in English, he first became a ladies hairdresser and ran his own salon. Russell then undertook a variety of jobs, also writing songs which were performed in local folk clubs. He also contributed songs and sketches to local radio programmes. At 20 years old, he returned to college and became a teacher in the Toxteth area of Liverpool. Around this time he met his wife, Annie, and became interested in writing drama.
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Peer Reviews
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Quality of writing
The Quality of Written Communication here is fine - all grammar, spelling and punctuation and accurate for the most-part, though naturally some errors slip though. This is why it is good practice to ensure a proof-read and spell-check of every essay before the final hand-in date for coursework, because even without realising, there could be errors in the final draft.
Level of analysis
The Level of Analysis is not evident here - this is more an AO1 essay where knowledge and understanding is tested. The knowledge and understanding therefore will be marked. The candidate displays a good knowledge of the occurrences in the play and the characters within it. I would like to see more appreciation of the interactions between the characters and more focus on more of the themes, rather than simply the socio-economic divide. This would give the examiner the impression of a more holistic understanding of the play and it's purpose. It is important to talk about the purpose of the play - of any play - because plays are written for a reason. They are made to make the audience think and so the candidate should also refer to how the audience are affected (e.g. instead of saying: "The difference in class is shown as Mrs Johnstone has an early marriage due to pregnancy. She is poorly educated and is very superstitious and either has no income or income from a low paid job", the candidate could add "This makes the audience assume that Mrs. Johnstone may be poorly educated, hence her superstitious nature". Plays are written for audiences, so the effect of the plays dramatic techniques should be noted with reference to the audience.
Response to question
The candidate's question is unclear here, but it appears to be a summary of the play 'Blood Brothers'. The candidate makes a good effort and raises some good points about the play, but a lot of time is dedicated to Willy Russell and this elicits no marks as the question would naturally focus on the play. Candidates are often misconstrued into thinking that talking about the playwright will earn marks when if fact it simple wastes time. As a result, I would recommend the candidate simply mention that the play is written by Willy Russell, a man who had grown up in a disadvantages area in Liverpool and so some of the events of 'Blood Brothers' may be informed by his own childhood/adulthood experiences.
