Vivienne Carlyle returns as Mrs Johnstone for the autumn leg of Bill Kenwright's touring production of Blood Brothers, which opens in Weston-super-Mare on 8 September. Two actors will share the Narrator across the run, and a spring 2027 tour has been added, taking the production through to May.
Vivienne Carlyle returns to the role of Mrs Johnstone for the autumn tour of Blood Brothers, which opens at The Playhouse in Weston-super-Mare on Tuesday 8 September 2026. Bill Kenwright Ltd has announced the full autumn company at the same time as a further run of dates for spring 2027.
Carlyle's account of the show's closing number has become one of the production's calling cards, and she will sing Tell Me It's Not True at the 10th anniversary of Magic at the Musicals at the Royal Albert Hall on 20 September 2026. The concert is to be broadcast on Magic Radio at a later date.
The Narrator is shared this autumn. Kristofer Harding reprises the role from Weston-super-Mare through to Chester, after which Richard Munday takes it on from Birmingham to Northampton. Sean Jones and Joe Sleight continue as the separated twins, Mickey and Eddie.
Tricia Adele Turner joins the tour as Mrs Lyons and Beth Danher as Linda. Also new to the company are Jamil Abbasi as Neighbour, Sarah Moss as Donna Marie and Miss Jones, Amelia Poggenpoel as Brenda and Jack Anthony Smart as Perkins. Reprising their roles are Tim Churchill as Mr Lyons, Michael Gillette as Sammy, Alex Harland as Policeman and Teacher, and Graeme Kinniburgh as Bus Conductor and Postman.
Willy Russell's musical follows twin brothers separated at birth and raised on opposite sides of the same city, whose paths cross again with consequences neither can undo. It began life in a Liverpool comprehensive in 1981, reached the Liverpool Playhouse in 1983, and went on to more than 10,000 West End performances, four Best Musical awards in London and seven Tony nominations on Broadway.
Bob Tomson and Bill Kenwright direct, with Tim Churchill as resident director and Matt Malone as music supervisor. Andy Walmsley designs set and costumes, Nick Richings lights and Dan Samson designs sound. Running time is 2 hours 45 minutes including the interval.
Autumn 2026 tour dates
- 8-12 September: The Playhouse, Weston-super-Mare
- 15-19 September: Cambridge Arts Theatre, Cambridge
- 22-26 September: Oxford Playhouse, Oxford
- 29 September - 3 October: Chelmsford Theatre, Chelmsford
- 6-10 October: Grimsby Auditorium, Grimsby
- 13-17 October: Storyhouse, Chester
- 20-24 October: Birmingham Hippodrome, Birmingham
- 27-31 October: Curve, Leicester
- 10-14 November: The Hawth, Crawley
- 17-21 November: Malvern Theatres, Malvern
- 24-28 November: Royal & Derngate, Northampton
The spring 2027 tour opens at the Cliffs Pavilion in Southend on Tuesday 12 January and closes in Shrewsbury on Saturday 22 May, calling at Southampton, Dartford, Sheffield, New Brighton, Cardiff, Eastbourne, Woking, Blackpool, Norwich, Billingham, Skegness, Torquay, Manchester, Croydon, Bath and Leeds along the way. Casting for those dates is still to be announced.
