What is the importance of the narrator in blood brothers?

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What is the importance of the narrator in Blood Brothers?

          One of the most compulsory characters in Willy Russell’s 1983 play Blood Brothers is the narrator. He is the main dramatic device and is critical for the audience. He makes the plot constantly flow and explains loose ends throughout the story. As well as being the narrator he plays various minor roles. He sings many songs, which show characters’ emotions, and introduce and develop important themes.

          The narrator’s main focus is to explain the story and what’s happening. After long sections of speech he will briefly explain what’s just happened, in case the actions don’t make it clear. He also makes sure you fully understand the story. One example is just after Mickey shoots someone. The gun goes off and straight after the narrator says, “There’s a man lies bleeding on a garage floor.” This explains someone has just been shot and because you don’t see it, you might not have known it had happened without him. He appears to be very omniscient by dropping hints about things that are going to happen in the future. This is one of the many devices he uses, to reveal the plot.

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            The narrator plays many small roles in Blood Brothers as well as being the main character. Some examples are the milkman, Mrs Johnstone's ex husband, the policeman, the gynaecologist and the judge. All of these roles seem to bring negativity and bad news to Mrs Johnstone. For example, the milkman is always demanding money, “No money, no milk!” This puts Mrs Johnstone under pressure and reminds the audience that she is really struggling as a single mother to bring up her children. The narrator plays the role of the teacher too, “You’re both suspended!” ...

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