GCSE English Literature podcasts - Blood Brothers

BBC BITESIZE - BLOOD BROTHERSEpisode 1

Carl: Hello, and welcome to the Bitesize English Literature Podcast.

Jean: I'm Jean Menzies - Author and Ancient Historian.

Carl: I'm Carl Anka, Journalist and Author.

Jean: We're here today to help you dive a little deeper into some of the texts in GCSE English Literature.

Carl: It's worth noting that there will be spoilers in this as we look into each text as a whole. So if you're not quite finished reading, or you're not quite ready for spoilers, just come back later.

Jean: There's plenty here to get your teeth stuck into.

Carl: You've clearly done something right because you made it here. If you want to hear all the episodes in this podcast, make sure you download the BBC Sounds app.

Jean: And don't forget that whilst you're in the BBC Sounds app, there's loads of other things you can use to help you with your revision - full versions of some of the texts you might be studying, revision playlists, and other Bitesize podcasts series to help with different subjects.

Jean: In this series, we're heading to Liverpool to explore Willy Russell's Blood Brothers.

Carl: This episode, we're going to look at the plot of blood brothers. What happens, who's there? And why did these events take place? It's a hefty one, we're going to go inside the play, find out all the key moments from the story and then give you an overview of what Blood Brothers is all about.

Jean: This play is all about twin brothers, Mickey and Edward who are separated at birth.

Carl: So, two twins have gone into very different upbringings. It starts in the 1960s and the events in the play take place over the next 20 years.

Extract
Narrator: So did y' hear the story
Of the Johnstone twins?
As like each other as two new pins
Of one womb born, on the self same day,
How one was kept and one given away?

An' did you never hear how the Johnstones died,
Never knowing that they shared one name,
Till the day they died, when a mother cried
My own dear sons lie slain.

Carl: So that /was the opening prologue from act one of blood brothers voiced by the narrator and foreshadowing what's to come. So it's kind of saying the whole story.

Jean: This method of beginning the story is pretty common feature in tragic plays. And you might recognise the same thing from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet too. But we'll talk a little bit more about that in episode five. The Johnstone twins of one womb born on the self same day. How one was kept and one given away. So we know straight off from the narrator's narration that these twins are about to be split up.

Carl: Not only do we know that they'll be split up, but we also know that well, unfortunately, they're going to die.

Jean: I love that they introduced a story like that. It's so impactful and immediately draws you in. You already know what you're in for.

Carl: Remember, as well, this is a play you're going to be sitting in your seat in the theatre and you just walked in, you just sat down, everything's gone dark, and you’re like “Hey, so these two are going to die. Wait… what?”

Jean: So the plot, let's get down to it and find out exactly how and why the Johnstone twins are split up, how and why they die. And what happens in between.

Carl: Right. So it all begins with Mrs. Johnstone. She is a struggling single mother of 7 children.

Jean: Seven? I feel like we really need to stress that. That is a lot. And it must have been a lot to deal with, especially as a single mother.

Carl: My mum was one of 17. So yeah, that's just like a lot. So a lot of noise in around the room. So Mrs. Johnstone has seven children already. And then she finds out she's pregnant with twins. She's employed by Mrs. Lyons who is much wealthier women and Mrs. Lyons persuades Mrs. Johnstone to give her one of her babies.

Jean: Honestly, it really throws you in the deep end with how wild the story is going to get. And when you think you've seen it all, Mrs. Lyons manages to even convince her own husband that the baby Edward is theirs.

Carl: Yeah. It's a real tricksy switcheroo, shall we say? Remember Mrs. Johnstone is still watching Mrs. Lyons after all this she's going to see Edward, her baby, grow up. The twin she gave away every single day when she's at work.

Jean:
Until Mrs. Lyons can't cope with Mrs. Johnstone being around Edward and fires her.

Carl: Could have been the end of it. Could have just been all over by Act One, but oh boy. Things get weird. Mickey. The other twin and Edward find each other several years later.

Extract
Edward: Hello.
Mickey: Hello.
Edward: I've seen you before. You were playing with some other boys near my house.
Mickey: Do you live up in the park?
Edward: Yeah. Are you going to come up and play up there again?
Mickey: No. What do but I'm not allowed.
Edward: Why?
Mickey: Cause me mum says
Edward: Well, my mummy doesn't allow me to play down here actually.

Jean: Oh, seven year old Edward and Mickey meeting for the first time! I have no idea that they're twins are related at all.

Carl: Can you even imagine? I know not every twin is identical. But I feel as if you could walk away from the story looking people in the street and go, “Wait, are you? You look like me! Could we could we be related?”

Jean: It's a scary thought to think that maybe we have secret twins out there.
Seven years old, Mickey and Edward meet each other and become best friends and blood brothers, as they call themselves when they realise they were born on the same day. Another coincidence there. And they also have Linda, Mickey's neighbour in their friendship group. So three best friends all together.

Carl: Yep. Three Musketeers. Linda is the girl that they both fall in love with as well. We're going to find out a lot more about Linda when we look at the characters in later episodes.

Jean: They're a fun little trio, so different from each other. With Edward obviously having been brought up in a wealthy household as an only child by Mrs. Lyons and Mickey with his seven siblings who are all always getting into trouble and living in a neighbourhood with much less money.

Carl: Mrs Lions doesn't like it when she finds that Edward has become friends with Mickey. And to top it all off the three of them – Mickey, Edward and Linda get into trouble with the police, when they throw some stones at some windows. The trio get dragged home (Edward to Mrs. Lyons, Mickey to Mrs. Johnstone) and that's the last straw for Mrs. Lyons. That's it, no more hanging out together.

Jean: Yeah. And even there, you see the massive difference in the way they're treated by society. One gets threatened with prison and the other one a light tap on the shoulder. And you can see that Mrs. Lyons just grows more and more terrified that one day the secret is going to be revealed.

Carl: Edward still doesn't know who his biological family is. It's one of those ticking time bombs. So eventually, something's going to give.

Jean: But in a bid to hopefully prevent that from happening, Mrs. Lyons convinces her husband (who still doesn't know, by the way, that Edward is not his biological child) to move the family to the countryside. But not long after that, Mrs. Johnstone and her family, as well as Linda's family get moved to new council houses, also in the countryside. And that's how we leave them all at the end of Act One. Separated again, living in different places and no longer able to be best friends or blood brothers.

Extract
Edward: Well, where do you live?
Mickey: The estate. Look!
Edward: My God. I only live…
Mickey: I know.

Carl: And then we pick things up in Act 2, where Mickey and Edward are teenagers. And as you may have just heard, they meet again. And just like that, they are best buds again.

Jean: They realise they've been living quite close for years, haven't they? It's wild to think they could have met even earlier, Edward in the big house on the hill.

Carl: Yep. And Linda’s still part of the gang too. In fact, it's Edward, who encourages Mickey to ask Linda to be his girlfriend, even though Edward feel something for her himself. They all stay really close throughout the teenage years before Edward goes off to university. And then, when Edward’s is at university, Linda finds out she's pregnant, and she gets married to Mickey.

Jean: Which, in an entirely different story, might have been the happily ever after that everyone was looking for. It could have all worked out. But as we know from the opening prologue it doesn’t.

Carl: Mickey loses his job in a factory quite soon after he and Linda get married, and he is desperately trying to find work somewhere else. He speaks to Edward about it this time, but Mickey gets really annoyed about Edward’s carefree life at university. So Mickey doesn't tell Edward that Linda is pregnant. But Linda does.

Extract
Linda: It's all right. I suppose. I suppose I always loved you in a way.
Edward: Then marry me.
Linda: Didn’t Mickey tell you? We got married two weeks before you came home. And I'm expecting a baby.

Jean: Edward finally tells Linda he loves her. He asked her to marry him, which we know would give her life she never would have had with Mickey because they have such different trajectories. But at this point, he doesn't know that she's already married to Mickey and pregnant with their child. All this time, they're having this conversation. And Mickey and his big brother Sammy are trying to find a way to make some money and end up committing a crime that gets them both sent to prison.

Carl: Oh Sammy. You big rascal.

Jean: Antagonist of the play

Carl: Indeed. So everyone's just a bit spare. Everyone's a bit lost. Everyone's not telling everyone the thing they should be telling them. You really want Mickey to go out that night. And you really want him to let Edward help him. You really want Edward to just get a bit more help. And Linda to be looked after and the baby to be okay. But these things don't happen because, well, remember that prologue: things aren't going to end well.

Jean: And then in prison, Mickey becomes severely depressed and starts taking antidepressants to help him cope, but he becomes dependent on them. And that continues once he is released and starts a new job.

Carl: So then Linda calls Edward or as he's now known, councillor Lyons. Because he's done very well for himself. In fact, he's done so well for himself he's a city councillor, and he makes decisions in the area where Mickey and Linda live. But during the encounter where Edward and Linda meet, they kiss and then Mrs Lyons tells Mickey, what has happened.

Jean: Oh, this is just another moment where I want to step inside and stop what's about to happen. We're getting so close to the end of Act Two now and the author of blood brothers, Willy Russell, told us at the very beginning what was going to happen through the Narrator. And he tells us again now.

Extract
Narrator: There's a man gone mad on the town tonight
He's gonna shoot somebody down
There's a man gone mad
Lost his mind tonight
There's a mad man, there's a mad man
There's a mad man runnin' 'round and 'round

Carl: Mickey has found Sammy’s gun and he goes off to have some words, with Edward in the town hall about Edwards kiss with Linda. Mrs. Johnstone follows Mickey and then finally, finally tells him in front of Edward that they are twins. Just as the police arrived to try and stop what's about to happen.

Jean:
She finally tells him that they’re brothers. Tells both of them that they're twins, that she couldn't afford to keep both of them so she agreed to give one away. But that just hurt Mickey more in the moment as he realises he could have had the life that Edward had if they swapped places. He waves the gun around and as he speaks it accidentally goes off killing Edward and the police then shoot Mickey leaving them both dead. What an ending.

Carl: Not the cheeriest one!

Extract
Narrator: And do we blame superstition for what came to pass Or could it be what we, the English, have come to know as class?
So, did y’ hear the story of the Johnstone twins? As like each other as two new pins.
How one was kept and one given away?
And they were born and died on the self same day.

Carl: The thing about blood brothers is obviously you know that they're both going to die. And you know something bad is going to happen. When it happens, it's still shocking.

Jean: Yes. And you still wish that there was going to be a moment where the play has played a trick on you. And actually no, it's all going to work out fine. We said it was wild.
Well, thanks for listening to episode one of our Bitesize English literature podcast all about the plot of Blood Brothers.

Carl: We've still got a lot to discuss. In episode two, we're going to be taking a closer look at the characters. In particular Mickey, Edward and Linda and don't forget, you can listen back to this or any of the episodes at any time to help your revision on BBC Sounds.

Carl: Hello, and welcome to the BBC Bitesize English literature podcast.

Jean: In this series, we're heading to Liverpool to discover Willy Russell's Blood Brothers. I'm Jean Menzies

Carl: And I'm Carl Anka and in this episode we're taking a closer look at the characters within Blood Brothers. Blood Brothers centres around Mickey and Edward two twins who've been separated at birth and have two very different upbringings.

Jean: So I guess it makes sense to get straight into it and start with one of the twins. Shall we take a look at Mickey Johnstone.

Extract
Mickey: What’s your birthday?
Edward: December the twelfth.
Mickey: So is mine.
Edward: Is it really?
Mickey: ’Ey, we were born on the same day … that means we can be blood brothers. Do you wanna be my blood brother, Eddie?
Edward: Yes, please.
Mickey: (producing a penknife) It hurts y’ know. (He puts a nick in his hand.) Now, give us yours. (He nicks Edward’s hand, then they clamp hands together.)
Mickey: See, this means that we’re blood brothers, an’ that we always have to stand by each other.

Carl: So what you've just heard is the scene where Mickey and Edward become Blood Brothers. And I think this is a really sweet and wholesome scene. I mean, considering that pricking each other's fingers and mixing their blood and whatnot.
The thing that's really important when understanding Mickey is that Mickey, especially young Mickey is a really friendly kid, he just loves chatting and being happy and being a little rascal.

Jean: I know if only friendships could be as simple now as they are at age seven when you're that innocent and open.

Carl: And friendly, and you can make friends with someone based on who their favourite dinosaur is.

Jean: We learned so much about Mickey in this particular scene. Remember, he's the twin brother who's been brought up by his biological mum with his seven siblings and not as much money. He's not had a great education. And he gets into trouble a lot at school. But he doesn't seem to care about his and Edward’s differences at all when they meet, and he's just instantly outgoing and fun.

Carl: There's this bit in the plate where Mickey doesn't know what a dictionary is. But he knows swear words. So he teaches a swear word to Edward, and Edward explains to him what dictionary is, it’s one of my favourite parts. It shows the differences between the two boys through the words they know and don't know. Willie Russell was trying to tell us a lot when he wrote that scene.

Jean: I love that bit, too. It really sort of emphasises how, in a lot of ways they're quite similar. And they both have this sort of excitement and curiosity about them. It just comes about in a different way, because of the different opportunities that they have.

Carl: There's that old phrase about how talent is distributed evenly. But opportunity isn't. And I think this scene really illustrates it. Another thing that you find out a lot in this play. Is that Mickey? He's a very loyal friend to both Edward and Linda.

Jean: And he's a really good son. You can see how close he is to Mrs. Johnstone throughout the play. They have such a good relationship.

Carl: I know we sound a little bit like a Mickey Johnstone fan club so far. It's not all good for Mickey, you know how the story ends and his more than one scrape with the law. Things will change as they grow up.

Jean: Yeah, they do. When the twins meet again, as teenagers, they quickly rekindle their friendship. And it seems like everything is back to how it was. It's as adults that things really begin to change, isn't it?

Extract
Mickey: Yeh. But you’re still a kid. An’ I wish I could be as well, Eddie, I wish I could still believe in all that blood brother stuff. But I can’t, because while no one was looking I grew up. An’ you didn’t, because you didn’t need to.

Jean: It must be so hard for Mickey at this point. A little kid who was so positive and happy about the world has been changed by his experiences in life. He's had a terrible time with jobs and unemployment, which means he can't support his wife Linda or the baby they're having together, which is something there was so much expectation placed upon young men to do, especially back then. In the early 1980s, there was still quite a strong belief in the traditional gender divide. And men going to work as the breadwinner whilst women took on the more caring role at home.

Carl: He keeps looking at Edward and his life's been way smoother. And Mickey's angry. He's jealous, like a lot of people when they see someone that has something that they think they should have themselves.

Jean: Absolutely. And he says that himself. Edward hasn't had to grow up because he hasn't had to struggle like Mickey and he doesn't blame Eddie for that. But it's hard to be around.

Carl: No, he doesn't blame Edward for that at first, but it gnaws at him. It picks away at him over time. And I think when Mickey ends up in prison and becomes very depressed, something breaks in him. Something snaps, it's the final straw. Mickey loses what's left of his self esteem. His relationship with Linda how he sees Edward it all comes crashing down and it just leads to this horrible endpoint where both him and Edward die.
Mickey says himself in the final scene, “How comes you got everything and I got nothing.” And I think it sums up how he feels about Edward in the end.

Jean: I think that this might be a good time then to start discussing Edward.

Extract
Mickey: Gis a sweet.
Edward: All right. (He offers a bag from his pocket.)
Mickey: (shocked) What?
Edward: Here.
Mickey: (trying to work out the catch; suspiciously taking one) Can I have another one. For our Sammy?
Edward: Yes, of course. Take as many as you want.

Carl: Edward is a nice boy. But what do you make of Edward?

Jean: I mean, I think what we've just heard really sums him up, he's warm, and he's kind, he shares his sweets immediately without thinking about it because he just thinks Mickey is brilliant from the moment they meet. He's been brought up very differently being raised as an only child by a wealthy woman, who he thinks is his biological mother. But we know she isn't. He's generous with what he has. And instead of looking down on Mickey and Linda when they meet, he's thrilled to be their friend. But I don't think he fully understands how significant what he has is compared to what they have.

Carl: The difference in money and education. The difference between having seven siblings and having none is absolutely huge by itself. And as smart as Edward thinks he is, Mickey teaches him a lot about being street smart. I think that's why Edward really enjoys the rebelliousness that gets them both into trouble.

Jean: Edward, meanwhile, is really drawn to Mrs. Johnstone as well. You might remember that she gives him a locket when he's young. And even though he doesn't know the real significance and sentimentality of it belonging to his biological mother, he still keeps it. The woman he thinks of as his own mother and Mrs. Lyons is very overprotective, as she's desperate to keep him close. But that, meanwhile, seems to push him more away.

Carl: Yes, Blood Brothers is one of those plays that brings up the question of whether it's our genes, or our environment that has a bigger impact on all of us. There are two boys born from the same mother, but with entirely different upbringings. And in their loyalty and kindness they're not too different, but it's the opportunities they've been given that creates a divide that grows as they get older and older.

Jean: While Mickey is struggling to get a job, Edward goes to Oxford University and carries on the path to success, which seems like it was just waiting for him since day one. And whilst Edward is still lovely and kind, he's a bit clueless to the realities of Mickey's life, because he's never experienced poverty or unemployment.

Extract
Edward: Why … why is a job so important? If I couldn’t get a job I’d just say, sod it and draw the dole, live like a bohemian, tilt my hat to the world and say ‘screw you’. So you’re not working. Why is it so important?

Carl: Only someone who never needed a job could say “So why is a job so important?” Bless him. Edwards hires in the right place a lot of time, but he truly has no idea.

Jean: I suppose he's never had to live or struggle like Mickey has. He's on track to be councillor, Lyons and Mickey's life is a world away from this.

Carl: But Edward is still the generous kid that we saw at the beginning. That part is still there. And as he gets older, he helps Linda find Mickey a job, and he helps them find a family home. So he does use his advantages for good.

Jean: Not all good though!

Carl: Yeah, he does kiss Linda a little bit!

Jean: It’s that thing that ultimately leads to his death. Because it's finding out about Edward and Linda that sends Mickey looking for him with a gun.

Carl: Yes. And look, we know Edward’s always loved Linda. There's been no secret about it. But he's always wanted best for Mickey. So he's helped Mickey asked Linda out in the first place.

Jean: And I do think he wants what's best for Linda at the end when they're having the affair. However, sort of underhanded that might be. She has grown a lot more distant from Mickey, through Mickey's own choice in a way. And Edward knows that he can give her a good life the life that Mickey can't.

Carl: She's really important to both Mickey and Edward’s stories. Now, what do we know about Linda?

Jean: This is teenage Linda.

Extract
Linda: Oh, leave him alone, you. Y’ big worm!

Jean: And this is adult Linda

Extract
Linda: An’ what about what I need? I need you. I love you. But, Mickey, not when you’ve got them inside you. When you take those things, Mickey, I can’t even see you.

Jean: So there was two different clips of Linda there. One where she's a teenager sticking up for Mickey with his teacher. And one as an adult. As she's begging Mickey to stop taking the pills. He became addicted to in prison.

Carl: It's Linda, who I feel for the most. She's kind and confident as a kid and she always protects Mickey, whether it's from his bigger brother Sammy or from a teacher when they're all in their teenage years.

Jean: And she's still only a late teenager when she falls pregnant with Mickey as the father of her baby and then marries him. She's nothing but encouraging of Mickey when he's trying to get a job. And we don't really hear her complain about her own lack of opportunities, which in a lot of ways are going to have mirrored Mickey's because she is from a poor background like Mickey and her pregnancy will have impacted on her opportunities as well.

Carl: Yep. And when we just heard her there was an adult she is trying desperately to make Mickey stop taking the pills, you can hear how she's a loving and supportive wife to Mickey she wants Mickey to be better for himself and then better for the family involved. It could be easy to forget that Linda, as an adult, is now a mother and she has a child to protect as well.

Jean: I think Willie Russell does leave a lot up to the imagination with Linda, like he wants us to make judgments for ourselves about her. She's such a strong link between Mickey and Edward and she's also a key part of both of their deaths as it's her affair with Edward that kicks off the chain of events that leads to the shootings.

Carl: There's something the narrator says that really sticks with me about Linda as well.

Extract
Narrator: There’s a girl inside the woman
Who’s waiting to get free
She’s washed a million dishes
She’s always making tea.

Carl: A girl inside a woman who's waiting to get free. It's the word free, isn't it? Which reminds you that she's really trapped as a working class housewife with no real way out.

Jean: Just like Mickey. She's stuck in a cycle because of who she is and the lack of opportunities and education she's had. Whilst Mickey becomes angry and jealous of Edward for his different life, Linda moves towards him and sees the positives that life offers. This could also really give us an indication of why she had an affair with Edward. Him and his lifestyle look good, especially given what's happened in her own life.

Carl: That's a lot to take in. And that's not all the characters yet.

Jean: Nope, there is in fact, a whole other episode come all about Mrs. Johnstone, Mrs. Lyons and the narrator.

Carl: I love it when the character is just simply known as “the narrator.”

So thank you for listening to episode two of our Bitesize English podcast that's going over some of the characters from Blood Brothers.

Jean: There's still a lot more to learn. So take a listen to the rest of the episodes in the Bitesize English literature podcast on BBC Sounds to find out more. In episode three, we'll continue looking at characters concentrating on Mrs. Johnstone, Mrs. Lyons and the narrator.

Carl: Hello, and welcome to the Bitesize English literature podcast. If you want to get all the episodes in this podcast, download the BBC sounds app.

Jean: Whilst you're in the BBC sounds app, there's loads of other things you can use to help you - full versions of some of the text you might be studying, revision playlists and other BBC Bitesize podcast series to help with different GCSE subjects.

Carl: In this series, we're heading to Liverpool to discover Willy Russell's Blood Brothers. I'm Carl Anka.

Jean: and I'm Jean Menzies. And in this episode, we're taking a closer look at more of the characters within Blood Brothers. In a previous episode, we shone the spotlight on Mickey, Edward and Linda. And in this one, we're going to find out more about Mrs Johnstone, Mrs Lyons and the Narrator so let's get into it.

Extracts

Mrs Johnstone: With one more baby we could have managed. But not with two. The welfare have already been on to me.

Mrs Lyons: Twins? You’re expecting twins?

Narrator: How quickly an idea, planted, can
Take root and grow into a plan.
The thought conceived in this very room
Grew as surely as a seed, in a mother’s womb.

Mrs Lyons: (containing her excitement) Give one of them to me. Please, Mrs Johnstone. Please.

Mrs Johnstone: Are y’ … are y’ that desperate to have a baby?

Carl: I think when we're looking at Mrs Johnstone and Mrs Lyons, it's really important to understand that this is where the story starts. Because it all begins in this moment. And in this scene in particular.
Mr. Johnstone is a single mother of seven children, and she's just found out she's having twins. And she's worried she can't afford two more babies.

Jean: I know. But it really does seem like Mrs Lyons has completely taken advantage of her there. She's just pounced when she's vulnerable. And she goes on to really manipulate her to give her one of the babies. She plays on everything she knows about Mrs Johnstone. Her worries about money and the fact she’s superstitious. Let's rewind for a moment.

Extract
Mrs Johnstone: Oh God, Mrs Lyons, never put new shoes on a table … You never know what’ll happen.

Jean: Right there. That's the moment that we find out how superstitious Mrs Johnstone is. And as we move forward in the conversation between Mrs Johnstone and Mrs Lyons about separating the babies, Mrs Lyons plays on those superstitions to make sure that Mrs Johnstone never tells anyone about the twins.

Extract
Mrs Lyons: They … they say that if either twin learns that he once was a pair, they shall both immediately die. It means, Mrs Johnstone, that these brothers shall grow up unaware of the other’s existence. They shall be raised apart and never, ever told what was once the truth. You won’t tell anyone about this, Mrs Johnstone, because if you do, you will kill them.

Carl: Mrs Lyons definitely manipulates the situation because she is so desperate to have a baby. Mrs Johnstone is lacking in power in this situation. And I think that has a big impact on that. She takes a lot of what Mrs Lyons says at face value. So when Mrs Lyons says that she's going to be giving Edward a better life, she believes it. When Mrs Lyons says that she's still going to get to be around Edward at work, Mrs Johnstone believes it because she is still Mrs Lyons’ cleaner at this point. And she believes everything Mrs Lyons says wholeheartedly.

Jean: That arrangement ends pretty quickly. Not long after Mrs Johnstone gives Edward to Mrs Lyons, Mrs Lyons fires her, which just shows us that Mrs Lyons definitely has a bit of a cruel streak. Definitely a selfish one. Which I don't think Mrs Johnstone really demonstrates.

Carl: Yeah. They are two very different women, though, so it makes sense to look at them separately. Mrs Johnstone first:

Extract
Mrs Johnstone: By the time I was twenty-five,
I looked like forty-two,
With seven hungry mouths to feed and one more nearly due.
Me husband, he’d walked out on me,
A month or two ago,
For a girl they say who looks a bit like Marilyn Monroe.

Jean: To me, Mrs Johnstone seems like such a warm and caring mother. She struggles to raise her seven kids alone. But she's doing her best and she's trying, she just doesn't have a lot of control over them, which means they do cause trouble around where they live.

Carl: She's not had it easy. She's had seven children with her husband, who used to adore her and take her dancing, but he left her for another woman.

Jean: I don't think I need to say anything more about this man.

Carl: No. But Mrs Jones has been through a lot and she's kind of it's still and she's still a good mum. She's still kind heart but she's just not got a lot of control in her life.

Jean: Then when they're rehoused to the countryside, you can tell she's so excited and looking forward to her fresh start. She's standing on her own two feet there and even manages to stand up to Mrs Lyons in a way she never could at the beginning. Listen to this:

Extract
Mrs Johnstone: I don’t want your money. I’ve made a life out here. It’s not much of one maybe, but I made it. I’m stayin’ here. You move if you want to.

Carl: She is more sure of herself. She's able to say no to Mrs Lyons now even though Mrs Lyons is offering her even more money. It does seem like things are getting better for her until Mickey and his older brother Sammy go to prison.

Jean: And from that point, it really just starts to unravel all over again. She's worried about Mickey taking the pills. But she's happy to hear that Linda's managed to get him some work in a new house. But she would also like to know who's been helping them.

Carl: And maybe she knows about councillor Lyons by then. But Willie Russell, he's not going to tell us which I think, some really clever storytelling. The next we see of Mrs Johnstone is when her and Mickey are together as she chases him down to finally tell him the truth about Mickey and Edward being twins. And as Mickey and Edward both lie dead at the end, it's Mrs Johnstone we see left alone, singing and hoping desperately, that it isn't true.

Jean: And it's so sad. I think we need to remember that it is Mrs Lyons who's the one that tells Mickey about Linda and Edward. She is such a key part of that chain of events. Because once Mickey knows, that's when he goes to get the gun.

Carl: This is probably a good time to take a closer look at Mrs Lyons. She's very lonely when we first meet her, she has a huge home. But her husband works away a lot on business. So he's never really there. She thought that she'd have children to fill the house with however, we quickly learn that hasn't happened.

Jean: Yeah, and I absolutely feel for her. But it's about the specific actions that Mrs Lyons goes on to take. She doesn't even tell her husband that Edward is really Mrs Johnstone's because he's away for so long that she can just tell him. Well, I gave birth while you weren't here.

Carl: The baby (Edward) not being hers biologically does have an effect on Mrs Lyons for sure. She gets a bit paranoid. It doesn't help in the long run. Because when she wants to leave the neighbourhood they're currently in, she can't tell Edward the truth about why.

Extract
Mrs Lyons: It’s just … it’s these people … these people that Edward has started mixing with. Can’t you see how he’s drawn to them? They’re … drawing him away from me.

Carl: Mr. Lyons suggest that Mrs Lyons sees a doctor. Mr. Lyons can't really understand why Mrs Lyons is so worried.

Jean: Meanwhile, we're all in on the secret. She starts panicking when she finds out Edward is spending time with his biological family. And it makes her over protective and pretty jealous, which ironically ends up pushing Edward further away. Listen to this. This is when they reconnect as teenagers and Mrs Lyons finds out then goes to try and pay Mrs Johnstone to leave.

Extract
Mrs Lyons: Wherever I go you’ll be just behind me. I know that now … always and for ever and ever like, like a shadow unless I can … make … you go … But you won’t, so …

Carl: In all that time, you can hear Mrs Lyons talking there. She's getting a knife out of the drawer. Getting ready to lunge at Mrs Johnstone. Mrs Lyons is desperate. But Mrs Johnstone managed to grab the knife. Otherwise, I think things would have gone a little bit more tragic for everyone involved in the story.

Jean: Mrs Lyons is in such a panic about what will happen if her secret is revealed. It's like she just wants it all to end by any means possible. I do wonder if she knows what she's doing when she tells Mickey about Linda and Edward having an affair at the end. Like we said before, she sets off a chain of events that leads to both boys lying dead. Not that she could have predicted that outcome. But it does feel like she was going for some big climactic end to this whole series of lies.

Carl: Mrs Lyons ends up betraying her own son. And that's the moment that leads to the downfall of everyone involved.

Jean: It’s a little bit difficult to feel for her in this moment.

Carl: But before we wrap things up, there's one more character we need to look at who is definitely a bit unusual.

Extract
Narrator: Yes, y’ know the devil’s got your number
He’s gonna find y’
Y’ know he’s right behind y’,
He’s standin’ on your step
And he’s knocking at your door.
He’s knocking at your door,
He’s knocking at your door.

Jean: The narrator! Definitely an unusual character.

Carl: Some may make the argument that the narrator should not be classed as a character because he doesn't really play a part in the story.

Jean: That's true. He doesn't ever interact directly with the characters in the play. He does speak to them, but they don't respond. He's mostly talking to the audience and bringing them in.

Carl: The narrator does that a lot throughout this play. The narrator also reminds the audience what's going to happen. So there's foreshadowing throughout. And as we heard in that clip, the narrator acts as a social conscience for the audience and guides him through their thoughts, making sure they don't forget what's coming.

Jean: There's something about him that's almost a little bit sinister when you're watching or reading this plays. But he's also quite practical.

Carl: Remember, the narrator at the very beginning told us the twins will die. And just like in this bit, the narrator wants to make sure that we're reminded of that fact as things develop.

Jean: When we say “he” referring to the narrator, it's not quite accurate because in the text itself, no sex or gender is given. The character is simply named the narrator. In the first ever live performance in 1983 he was played by a man, which is probably what's influencing us here. But you could imagine the narrator as whoever you would like.

Carl: I think there is a practical side for the reader and the audience. He also definitely acts as a bit of a conscience too. I like it when the narrator directly asks a question to the audience that makes them think.

Extract
Narrator: Do we blame superstition for what came to pass?
Or could it be what we the English have come to know as class?

Jean: That was right at the end when the twins both die. I see what he means. Those two direct questions really make the audience think about what they've just seen.

Carl: The narrator is one of the most important characters of the play as they act as a guide and give insight.

Jean: We've discussed so many important characters, it's been great to step inside and really see them in action.

Carl: We hope it's been useful for you as well. And we hope you've learned some more about the characters in Blood Brothers.

Jean: Thanks for listening to the Bitesize English literature podcast and part two of the characters in Blood Brothers.

Carl: We've still got a lot to discuss. So take a listen to other episodes on BBC Sounds to find out more about the themes and language in Blood Brothers.

Carl: Hello, and welcome to the Bitesize English literature podcast. This series is designed to help you tackle your GCSE in English literature by transporting you inside the texts you're studying and break them down. To give you the key things you need to ace your exam.

Jean: Remember, there's lots of resources on the BBC Bitesize website. So take a look there for even more information on Blood Brothers. I'm Jean Menzies.

Carl: I'm Carl Anka. And in this episode, we're taking a closer look at the themes within Blood Brothers. There are some key themes that stand out within the play, and we're going to explore three important ones. One is social class inequality. Number two, superstition and fate. And number three is violence.

Jean: All of those are definitely themes that play a huge role in Blood Brothers. And I'm looking forward to getting into them actually.

Carl: Let's head inside.

Extract
Mrs Johnstone: If my child was raised In a palace like this one, He wouldn’t have to worry where His next meal was comin’ from. His clothing would be supplied by George Henry Lee.
Mrs Lyons sees that Mrs Johnstone might be persuaded.
Mrs Lyons: He’d have all his own toys
And a garden to play in.
Mrs Johnstone: He could make too much noise
Without the neighbours complainin’.
Mrs Lyons: Silver trays to take meals on.
Mrs Johnstone: A bike with both wheels on?
Mrs Lyons nods enthusiastically.
Mrs Lyons: And he’d sleep every night In a bed of his own.

Carl: So we see quite early on in the play that Mrs Lyons is trying to persuade Mrs Johnstone to give her one of her twins.

Jean: Yeah, the scene really shows why Mrs Johnstone thought she was doing the right thing as she named all the things that Edward will have if he lives with Mrs Lyons instead of her, it must have been really difficult and it's heart-breaking to hear, but also a real sign of the times.

Carl: Absolutely. Willy Russell wrote Blood Brothers in 1981. It was first performed as a musical in 1983 This all during a time where the Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was in power.

Jean: This book, as we know, is based in Liverpool, which is in northern England, an area which was hit really hard in the 1980s with high unemployment. Now, although there had been economic decline in Liverpool before Margaret Thatcher came into power. She was a key part of deindustrialization. And because of that, so many people who worked in the coal mines, shipyard steel mills, were finding themselves unemployed.

Carl: Yes. And Willy Russell was from Liverpool. So he was living through all of this at the same time. And although Blood Brothers is set a little bit earlier, in the 1960s, Willy was writing his characters to represent the time he was living through, so we see a representation of working class people being badly affected by the economic downturn with Mickey and the Johnstones. Whereas the middle classes, like Edward, and the Lyons are shown as thriving.

Jean: The difference in social class meant absolutely nothing in their friendship at age seven, though, did it? Let's get to when they first met.

Extract
Edward: Fantastic. When I get home I’ll look it up in the dictionary.
Mickey: In the what?
Edward: The dictionary. Don’t you know what a dictionary is?
Mickey: Course I do… It’s a, it’s a thingy, innit?

Jean: You know, this is one of my favourite scenes, Mickey has just taught Edward a swear word. And then we hear Edward Teach Mickey, what a dictionary is. It's an adorable scene because they both really don't care about the differences in their social class. And instead, they're happy to learn from each other. And they both know different things. But it does really show off this theme of social class and inequality. Even at seven, Edward is clearly getting access to a better education than Mickey is.

Carl: The impact of Mickey's educational opportunities really sets up his life and future opportunities or lack thereof. And of course, Edward goes off to university and becomes a city councillor, which seems completely obvious that that was going to happen to him. But Mickey doesn't have the same chances as Mickey loses his factory job. And he really struggles to find more work, even though he's actively looking for it.

Jean: And it's at this older age that there's inequality and their differences do start to impact their friendship. Let's jump forward a little bit.

Extract
Edward: Why … why is a job so important? If I couldn’t get a job I’d just say, sod it and draw the dole, live like a bohemian, tilt my hat to the world and say ‘screw you’. So you’re not working. Why is it so important?
Mickey: (looking at him) You don’t understand anythin’, do ye? I don’t wear a hat that I could tilt at the world.

Jean: This is where we see the gap widening in their friendship because their differences are making an impact now. Edward just can't understand that Mickey has nothing to fall back on because Edward will always have his family's wealth and support.

Carl: Yes. And without having the opportunities that Edward has, Mickey's prospects are limited regardless of how hard he works and how much he wants to succeed. They're on completely different paths from day one. And as we see, it really does show us how social class and inequality work in action. It's a key theme throughout Blood Brothers.

Jean: Now one of the other themes in Blood Brothers that we need to take a look at is superstition and fate. Superstition is really introduced in Blood Brothers by Mrs Johnstone right at the beginning of the play, shall we listen?

Extract
Mrs Johnstone: Oh God, Mrs Lyons, never put new shoes on a table … You never know what’ll happen.
Mrs Lyons: (twigging it; laughing) Oh … you mean you’re superstitious?
Mrs Johnstone: No, but you never put new shoes on the table.

Carl: It's quite funny part on its own. Mrs Johnstone’s absolute fear of shoes being put on the table! But actually this is something that Mrs Lyons uses to her advantage later on to exert power over Mrs Johnstone.

Jean: Knowing that she's so superstitious. Mrs Lyons tells Mrs Johnstone that if either twin learns that he was once a pair, then they will both immediately die, which makes you want to roll your eyes when she says it because it's clearly something she's making up to have some control over Mrs Johnstone.

Carl: It comes true in the end. And this is where fate comes into play.

Extract
Narrator: So did y’ hear the story of the Johnstone twins?
As like each other as two new pins,
Of one womb born, on the selfsame day,
How one was kept and one given away?
An’ did you never hear how the Johnstones died,
Never knowing that they shared one name,
Till the day they died, when a mother cried
My own dear sons lie slain?

Jean: As we know, Mickey and Edward’s death is inevitable from the opening scene when the narrator tells us that it will happen, which makes the superstition that Mrs Lyons tells Mrs Johnstone come true.

Carl: Yes. And it's the narrator. That's the key character for this thing, although we weren't quite sure whether to call them a character as they don't really play a part in the story. But either way, the narrator reminds the audience of the twins’ fate at different points throughout the play. In fact, there's a song called New Shoes on the Table, which referenced the earlier conversation between Mrs Johnstone and Mrs Lyons that's repeated by the narrator at different points throughout. Let's fast forward and find it.

Extract
Narrator: Yes, y’ know the devil’s got your number
He’s gonna find y’
Y’ know he’s right behind y’,
He’s standin’ on your step
And he’s knocking at your door.
He’s knocking at your door,
He’s knocking at your door.

Jean: That just gives me chills. It's repeated even at some happy moments in the play. The narrator just reminding the audience of Mickey and Edward’s fate and what's to come for them.

Carl: Right then Jean, where do you stand on this? Do you think Mrs Lyons puts a curse on Mickey and Edward with that superstition? Or do you think it was just fate?

Jean: I think it is a symbol of her overarching behaviour, which leads to what happens. As part of her characterization. She's manipulative, and the superstition is a version of that manipulation that we then see throughout the play coming back again and again until she reveals that Edward kissed his wife.

Extract
Narrator: And do we blame superstition for what came to pass?
Or could it be what we the English have come to know as class?

Carl: Superstition and fate are definitely important themes in Blood Brothers. But Russell himself is questioning whether or not they really exist or whether social class is actually a more important thing in determining what becomes of Mickey and Edward.

Jean: Yeah, this question from the narrator really makes you question whether it's anything to do with superstition, or whether social class and inequality is really the key factor in their lives and their deaths.

Carl: It's a lot to think about.

Jean: But while we think about that, we also need to take a look at the final key theme in Blood Brothers: violence.

Extract
But you know that if you cross your fingers
And if you count from one to ten

Jean: It's something that's present in the play throughout, particularly for working class families.

Carl: So this is all the kids playing a game pretending to shoot each other. The violence is only a game, but it does potentially tell us a lot about these kids who, only seven, are playing games that revolve around guns and death.

Jean: It also acts as foreshadowing or as a prediction for the violence is still to come into play because it definitely doesn't stay pretend.

Carl: Unfortunately not. Sammy is Mickey's older brother, and Mickey and himself eventually go to prison. And that's because Sammy shoots someone in a robbery that's gone wrong. In fact, Sammy is connected in some way to a lot of the violence in the play. This is why I keep calling him a big rascal. The violence seems to reflect the lack of power in the characters whenever they start to lose power, like when Mickey is struggling to support Linda and his baby. That's when Mickey decides to take part in this robbery. And it's when the characters turn to violence, to regain some of the power that they feel has been lost.

Jean: While we see it among the working class characters in the play more frequently, it definitely isn't limited to them. Let's head back to a moment where Mrs Lyons is losing her power.

Extract
Mrs Lyons: Wherever I go you’ll be just behind me. I know that now … always and for ever and ever like, like a shadow unless I can … make … you go … But you won’t, so …

Jean: and we know that she's reaching for a knife the whole time. She's seeing this because it tells us in the stage directions and she lunges at Mrs Johnstone.

Carl: And if Mrs Johnstone hadn’t acted so quickly, I think Mrs Lyons might have caught her.

Jean: Yeah, and this is what you meant about people losing power. This is just after Mrs Johnstone has refused to move again and separate the boys now they've reconnected as teenagers. Mrs Lyons has lost control. So she turns to violence.

Carl: The whole play culminates in this big moment of violence, as both twins are shot. That's been building up throughout the entire story and Mickey's instinct when he is angry and upset with Edward is to immediately grab a gun. He doesn't actually shoot him on purpose. I think that's what makes it really tragic. It's a complete accident.

Jean: But by that point, violence has taken over their lives and with both the boys now dead, it really shows the devastating impact that violence can bring.

Carl: It is really sad that both Mrs Lyons and Mickey become violent when they feel a lack of control, as in the end, it doesn't bring them any power back at all.

So they were some of the key themes from Blood Brothers: social class and inequality, superstition and fate, and violence.

Jean: Thanks for listening to the Bitesize English literature podcast and joining us as we explore the themes in Blood Brothers.

Carl: Don't forget you can listen back to this or any of the episodes at any time to help your revision on BBC Sounds.

Carl: Hello, and welcome to the besides English literature podcast,

Jean: we're here today to help you dive a little deeper into some of the texts in GCSE English literature.

Jean: In this series, we're heading to Liverpool to discover Willy Russell's Blood Brothers

Carl: I'm Carl Anka.

Jean: And I’m Jean Menzies. And in this episode, we're taking a closer look at the form, structure and language within Blood Brothers. Obviously, Blood Brothers is a play, which has an impact on the structure and language.

Carl: The dialogue and the language really emphasises the characters’ different social classes, while the structure of the play tracks the twins’ development over the years.

Jean: So let's begin by taking a closer look at the form of Blood Brothers and how being a musical plays an important part in the play.

Carl: It’s clear from the opening that Blood Brothers is a musical. So you know it's a play and it features songs as an important part. They’re spread throughout the play. And they’re used throughout the plot. For example, Mrs Johnstone tells us all about her life through the medium of song.

Jean: So I think it's a really important thing to remember when you pick up a copy of Blood Brothers to always have in your head that this is a piece of theatre. It was written to be seen and heard as a performance. So it's written in lines of dialogue with stage directions and songs. These are important to read so you can visualise how this was meant to be seen on stage.

Carl: It is easy to skim on the stage directions when you're reading, because sometimes it feels like it's not important. However, it really is. There are loads of little moments where people were standing on stage at the same time and dialogue is crossing over. But they're not necessarily aware of each other. If you read a dialogue without the state directions, it can feel quite messy, but together it makes perfect sense. You can picture things so much more clearly. Stage directions are how they show the reader how the characters are behaving. For example:

Extract
Mrs Lyons: Wherever I go you’ll be just behind me. I know that now … always and for ever and ever like, like a shadow unless I can … make … you go … But you won’t, so …
We see that throughout the above Mrs Lyons has opened the knife drawer and has a lethal-looking kitchen knife in her hand. Mrs Johnstone, unaware, has her back to her. On impulse, and punctuated by a note, Mrs Johnstone wheels. On a punctuated note Mrs Lyons lunges again but Mrs Johnstone manages to get hold of her wrist, rendering the knife hand helpless. Mrs Johnstone takes the knife from Mrs Lyons’s grasp and moves away.
Mrs Johnstone: (staring at her; knowing) YOU’RE MAD. MAD.

Jean: The dialogue is just Mrs Lyons getting stressed and upset but the stage directions tell us more.

Carl: If you hadn't read those directions, you wouldn't know that Mrs Lyons was preparing to stab Mrs Johnstone. Stage directions are really important.

Jean: And the songs are the same. The lyrics and the songs tell us so much about the characters, what's going on and how they feel. They're used for other purposes, too. They can reveal more about characters than dialogue does. They remind the audience of key ideas and themes like when the narrator repeats the same song about the shoes on the table and they create the mood and atmosphere of different scenes.

Carl: The songs in Blood Brothers keep it moving. They keep the plot going. This is why the structure of the play is really important.

Jean: Early in Act One Mrs Johnstone has a song where she's filling us in on a bit of her life and giving us her backstory:

Extract
Mrs Johnstone (singing): We all had curly salmon sandwiches,
An’ how the ale did flow,
They said the bride was lovelier than Marilyn Monroe.
And we went dancing,
Yes, we went dancing.

Carl: And as you said, this is the beginning of Act One. So this is important because it's a key part of the structure of Blood Brothers is that it has two acts.
The first act starts in the early 1960s Before the birth of the twins, Mickey and Edward, and it moves on seven years to when the boys meet for the first time properly as children.
Act Two picks up when Mickey and Edward were in their teenage years and it tracks them all the way through adulthood. There's chunks of time that pass over so you can focus on the pivotal moments in the lives of both of the twins.

Jean: And just like in Mrs Johnstone's song, songs are used throughout to fill in gaps and tell us what happened in the times that passed or what's happened previously.

Carl: Songs, form and function. It makes things easy to follow. Apart from the opening of Blood Brothers, the play is in chronological order, so in Act One we see how the twins are separated, then we see differences in their childhood. They get to know each other again, when they're a bit older. It ends with a really happy song as Mrs Johnstone's family move to the countryside and things begin to look positive for the family.

Jean: And Act Two carries on from much the same place. The Johnstone family seemed to have had a positive start in their new home and they're much more content. But it's in Act Two when things start going wrong. Mickey and Sammy go to prison, and the events of Mickey's adulthood become more and more tragic, ultimately ending with Mickey and Edward’s deaths.

Carl: The events in Act Two are becoming sadder. We spoke in other episodes about how as Mickey get older, the social class begins to affect him negatively. Unemployment really begins to take a toll. And these negative experiences, make the end of Blood Brothers seem inevitable.

Jean: And the time that the structure breaks from chronological order is right at the beginning to show the audience what the ending will be, and exactly how inevitable it is that this play will end in tragedy. Let's rewind to the opening of Act One.

Extract
Narrator: So did y’ hear the story of the Johnstone twins?
As like each other as two new pins,
Of one womb born, on the selfsame day,
How one was kept and one given away?
An’ did you never hear how the Johnstones died,
Never knowing that they shared one name,
Till the day they died, when a mother cried
My own dear sons lie slain?

Carl: Now read the stage directions:

Extract
The lights come up to show a re-enactment of the final moments of the play – the deaths of Mickey and Edward. The scene fades.

Carl: So, right at the start of Blood Brothers, it's not only has the narrator explained that Mickey and Edward have died on the same day they've discovered they are brothers. But the stage directions tell us the audience are also shown the final moments of Mickey and Edward, whilst the narrator speaks. So there's no doubt, no question about it. The moment you sit down and start watching Blood Brothers, you know where the story's heading, you know that Mickey and Edward are going to die. That's the ultimate spoiler really. It's likely that Willy Russell took some inspiration from William Shakespeare. As Shakespeare uses a similar structure technique in Romeo and Juliet and a number of other plays, revealing the fate of central characters near or at the start of his plays.

Jean: It's a really interesting structural choice, because of course, it has an effect on how a reader or audience experiences the play.

Carl: You already know that everything you're experiencing is leading to one final point, you don't know when the final point is happening. But you know it isn't going to be pleasant.

Jean: And you mentioned that we know that an audience would actually see those final moments as well as hearing about them. One of the main reasons I really enjoy reading plays is because you get such an insight from the stage directions. And being told how someone will look in a moment. It's like having an extra view into a story. And with a musical, the use of song is really clever for that too. So much of what we don't see in Blood Brothers is told to us through song, allowing a way for Willy Russell to fill in the gaps for us.

Carl: Language is also really important to play. So let’s stay in Act One but move things forward a little bit to hear about how language makes such an important impact in Blood Brothers.

Extract
Mrs Johnstone: I said, I said, look, next week I’ll pay y’ –
Mrs Lyons: It’s a pretty house, isn’t it? It’s a pity it’s so big. I’m finding it rather large at present.

Carl: What you just heard are some of the first times that we hear Mrs Johnstone and Mrs Lyons speak, even in just those two moments, we already have such an understanding of the differences between the backgrounds of Mrs Johnstone and Mrs Lyons. You can from see Mrs Johnstone's dialogue that Russell uses the abbreviation and phonetic spelling to represent her Liverpudlian accent.

Jean: Whereas Mrs Lyons' speech is more representative of the middle class and what is typically accepted as standard English. You also know from the content that Mrs Johnstone has struggled more than Mrs Lyons and Mrs Lyons comes from a more privileged background and obviously still lives an affluent life.

Carl: We hear the same between Edward and Mickey when they first meet as well. The differences between them at seven years old are quite funny. One knows swear words, and the other one knows what a dictionary is. But as they grew up, the humour between those differences is lost. And the way they speak just shows more and more about how the gap is widening, and how they're becoming two very different people. There's a difference between their lives and their experiences because of their social classes. The difference between the working class characters and the middle class characters in their speech is a key element as to how Willie Russell uses language.

Jean: The language he uses for the characters is mainly naturalistic so we get a sense of a realistic conversation between the characters. It also means that the character's emotions can be revealed by how they speak and their fluency. When characters are very upset or angry, they speak using a broken syntax, so their sentences are fragmented with pauses and incomplete moments, as tends to be the case in everyday life. A great example is when Mickey confronts Edward about his affair with Linda

Extract
Mickey: I had to start thinkin’ again. Because there was one thing left in my life. (Pause.) Just one thing I had left, Eddie – Linda – an’ I wanted to keep her. So, so I stopped takin’ the pills. But it was too late. D’ y’ know who told me about … you … an’ Linda … your mother … she came to the factory and told me.

Carl: The way he speaks is broken up. You see how affected and upset everything has made Mickey. It makes the characters real, doesn't it?

Jean: It does. I know myself, I just get extra Scottish when I'm angry. And I think that's exactly why Willie Russell chose to use primarily informal language.

Carl: Now, you say primarily because it's not throughout the entire play. Some of the best bits in my opinion come from Willy Russell's use of figurative language. Figurative language is when you don't use the literal meaning. It hit me like a tonne of bricks is a great example of figurative language. In Blood Brothers, we see Willie Russell use this a lot more in the songs with metaphors throughout that link some of the key themes to the play.

Jean: Marilyn Monroe features throughout Blood Brothers, but at the beginning she represents freedom and sexiness, but towards the end of the play, she's used as a nod to early death and what we know to expect from Mickey and Edward.

Carl: She’s used towards the end of Blood Brothers to symbolise Mickey's loss of control and to foreshadow what's going to happen to him in the future. Mickey's very own death.

Jean: Like we said before, there's so many ways that Willie Russell finds to tell us things in Blood Brothers without directly writing in the dialogue. Stage directions here, are important again:

Extract
Mickey and Sammy exit.
Mrs Johnstone stands watching them as they approach the bus stop. She smiles at Mickey’s failure to cope with Linda’s smile of welcome.

Jean: Those aren't just straightforward stage directions telling people where to stand. The language he uses paints a clear picture. He lets the audience and the reader inside so they understand how people are reacting to each other and why.

Carl: Willy Russell knows what he's doing. We can say that much. I think I'm really understanding the decisions he made when he sat down and worked with Blood Brothers and why he wrote it in this particular style.

Jean: Well, that's what we want and there's still more to come.
Thanks for listening to episode five of the Bitesize English literature podcast all about form, structure and language in Blood Brothers.

Carl: We still got a lot to discuss. So take a listen to all episodes on BBC Sounds to find out more. In Episode Six, we're going to be chatting about the dramatisation of Blood Brothers and how being a play rather than a novel impacts the reader and the audience.

Carl: Hello, and welcome to the Bitesize English literature podcast. If you want to get all the episodes in this podcast, make sure you download the BBC Sounds app.

Jean: And don't forget that whilst you're in the BBC sounds app, there's loads of other things you can use to help you with your revision. Full versions of some of the texts you might be studying, revision playlists and other Bitesize podcasts series to help with different GCSE subjects.

Carl: In this series, we're heading to Liverpool to discover Willy Russell's Blood Brothers. I'm Carl Anka.

Jean: And I'm Jean Menzies. And in this episode, we're taking a closer look at the dramatisation of Blood Brothers. Blood Brothers is obviously a play. So simply reading it does give a limited experience of how it is meant to be because it was written to be performed.

Carl: There's so much that goes into play when it's on stage. We're talking about actors, scenery, production, lights, sound, and the audience itself. This all builds up to create an atmosphere for the viewer.

Jean: And in a musical, how songs are performed is important too, because a director will make choices based on their own interpretation. So when we're looking at the dramatisation of Blood Brothers, we can split it into three categories, characterization, staging, and music. So we shall start with characterization.

Jean: This is Mickey as a child,

Extract
Mickey: I'm older than you. I'm nearly eight.

Jean: As a teenager.

Extract
Mickey: Eddie, I haven't even got one girlfriend.

Jean: And as an adult.

Extract
Mickey: That was kid stuff, Eddie, Didn't anyone tell you?

Carl: We've just whizzed through Mickey, through different points in his life.

Jean: Mickey at seven, as a teenager, and as an adult but all played by the same actor. As part of the characterization, when the play is performed, the actors playing the characters of Mickey, Edward, Linda and Sammy, all play these characters as children, teenagers and adults.

Carl: It's pretty clever, isn't it? Willy Russell says in these notes at the beginning of the play, that the same actors should play the characters throughout. So whoever is playing these characters needs to play differently according to the age of the character in the play. So there are times when you are watching brothers, where you could see a 30 year old man, try and talk and act like a seven year old, which is a bit weird the first time you watch it, but you get used to it after about 15 minutes or so.

Jean: Yeah, first, I did wonder why they hadn't cast children. But then the further you get into the play, it does add to that developing character to have seen the same actor do those developing roles. And it doesn't sound like an easy task. Even just taking Mickey, those three ages are vastly different for him, aren't they? Mickey, age seven is friendly and warm and open, he gets a little more awkward as a teenager. And then when he comes out of prison as an adult, he's depressed and finds it difficult to express himself.

Carl: I do wonder if it's a dream role as an actor to play so many different parts of one character. Or maybe it's a headache, a bit of a nightmare at the same time. It's a lot of pressure. Because you have to help the audience follow along and understand everything that's happened and changed, depending on the time of the play. Your use of voice, your use of facial expressions, your use of body language. There are points in time, where adult Mickey has to show the pain and vulnerability that child Mickey had, but not make it too obvious that child Mickey is still there.

Jean: And it's not just Mickey's character either. They all changed throughout. The kids grew up and Edward becomes a successful businessman. Mrs Lyons goes from being a powerful and manipulative woman to someone we see losing control and brandishing a knife at Mrs Johnstone in Act Two.

Carl: The narrator doesn't change. But the narrator is still difficult to play in a different way. Because even though the narrator doesn't interact with other characters, they're on stage throughout, and the narrator speaks to and about all the other characters in the play, even if the other characters in the play don't show any awareness of the narrator’s presence.

Jean: Let's see some of Willy Russell's production notes.

Production note
The setting for Blood Brothers is an open stage, with the different settings and time spans being indicated by lighting changes, with the minimum of properties and furniture. The whole play should flow along easily and smoothly, with no cumbersome scene changes.

Jean: So the production notes tell us that the story is the important part. The actors and the dialogue are what we need for the story and the set doesn't matter. Because the focus should be on what's happening in the play, and the relationships between the characters without the distraction of scene changes and fuss on stage. Different settings and times can be shown by the lighting instead, which makes sense to keep the focus on the characters and how they interact and develop.

Production note
Two areas are semi-permanent – the Lyons house and the Johnstone house. We see the interior of the Lyonses’ comfortable home but usually only the exterior front door of the Johnstone house, with the ‘interior’ scenes taking place outside the door.

Jean: This is interesting, isn't it, because we keep seeing how Blood Brothers is showing us a difference in class between the two boys. Having these two areas separate on stage really emphasises the difference between the families, and where and how they live, showing the fancy inside of the Lyons’ house, but keeping the Johnstone's outside their front door really drives a difference to the audience.

Production note
The area between the two houses acts as a communal ground for the street scenes, park scenes, etc.

Jean: So the place the boys meet will be somewhere in the middle of their two homes.

Carl: It's a figurative and literal meaning of the middle ground for the boys.

Jean: I love that description. And then every time you see them go between their two homes, it's like they're crossing a boundary or a barrier, because in a literal sense, they are in the middle ground between their houses, but also figuratively. We can look at the more imaginative meaning of the phrase. It's a middle ground for their lives and not too far over to one side or social class where the other boy doesn't necessarily fit.

Carl: Where the differences don't really matter. And they're not emphasised by their surroundings or background. I like how the staging in Blood Brothers is so minimal. I think the story is so powerful and Willy Russell was right not to distract from messaging with one big scene change. He really wants to let the story speak and the story is excellent.

Jean: He lets the music speak too, which is the final thing we need to discuss in dramatization.

Carl: The songs are an integral part of Blood Brothers. They’re spread throughout the play, and they’re used for different reasons. Sometimes they create the mood and the atmosphere, or they fill in the gaps in the storyline, remind the audience of the key themes, or like this one from Mrs Johnstone, they reveal information about the characters that we don't already know:

Extract
Mrs Johnstone (singing): We all had curly salmon sandwiches,
An’ how the ale did flow,
They said the bride was lovelier than Marilyn Monroe.
And we went dancing,
Yes, we went dancing.

Jean: This is the first moment we properly meet Mrs Johnstone. And this song allows her to give us her backstory straightaway. And it feels natural, it shows how seamlessly they're incorporated into the play. Because obviously, bursting into song isn't the most natural way to start a conversation is it…

Carl: The actors remain in character when they sing, which I think really make things feel natural, as it really feels as if they're revealing their thoughts and emotions to us. And also the songs sound like songs that they've listened to within the play. Again, this is a musical. So they speak until they're so emotional, they have no choice but to sing. And that's why you get information you haven't heard before, because they're at a heightened emotional level.

Jean: And Willie Russell did aim to have songs that were reminiscent of the type of music sung in working men's clubs. So the music does help create the mood of the types of places that Mrs Johnstone and her family might have gone to.

Carl: I really think you can feel that. It goes without saying some of the songs really do get stuck in your head. And they make us feel emotional too.

Jean: Like the song Tell Me It’s Not True. If you haven't heard it, go and listen to it after this and you'll feel every word of Mrs Johnstone seeing her boys lying dead at the end of Act Two. It's emotional and you really do believe it.

Carl: We've reached the end of episode six. So, thank you listener for joining us for the Bitesize, English literature podcast. We've been talking all about the dramatisation of Blood Brothers, we've discussed the characterization, the staging, the music, of the play. We hope you learned something with us

Jean: But we've still got a lot to discuss. So take a listen to the other episodes on BBC Sounds to find out more. And in Episode Seven, we're going to be taking a closer look at the context of Blood Brothers and the time it was written and first performed.

Carl: Hello, and welcome to the Bitesize English literature podcast. This series is designed to help you tackle your GCSE in English literature.

Jean: Remember, there's lots of resources on the BBC Bitesize website. So take a look there for even more information on Blood Brothers.

Carl: I'm Carl Anka.

Jean: And I'm Jean Menzies.

Carl: And in this episode, we're taking a closer look at the context of Blood Brothers. And when it was written.

Jean: Which was the 1980s

Carl: Yes, it was slightly before my time. Blood Brothers was written in 1981 and opened in Liverpool Playhouse in 1983. It was transferred to London's West End in the same year, and went on to win two Awards, including Best New Musical. So what was happening in the 1980s that made Blood Brothers such a hit?

Archive
Margaret Thatcher: Now that the election is over, may we get together and strive to serve and strengthen the country of which we're so proud to be a part of…
Newsreader: Mrs Thatcher told the conservative trade unionists, that like any family living beyond its means, the government must cut its spending…
Margaret Thatcher: We have to fight our battles every day. They're never won. You've got to sell your goods every day, you've got to be efficient every day, you've constantly got to think of the morrow. It's a daily battle for each and every day.

Carl: Margaret Thatcher. She was the prime minister who was in power at the time of Willy Russell writing Blood Brothers.

Jean: Which makes a lot of sense because it was under Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government, that a lot of working class people lost their jobs and unemployment was higher than ever before. As we mentioned in episode four, there had been an economic decline in Liverpool before Margaret Thatcher came into power, but she was a key part of deindustrialization. And so people who worked in coal mines, shipyards, steel mills, were finding themselves unemployed.

Carl: This especially affected working class industrial areas of northern England such as Liverpool. Liverpool is where Blood Brothers is set and where Willie Russell was from.

Jean: In fact, Willie Russell himself was from a working class family who lived near Liverpool. He left school at the age of 15, without any academic qualifications and became a hairdresser. By age 20, he decided to return to education and went on to be a teacher in his home city. Perhaps this explains how education is portrayed in Blood Brothers. Maybe he found that education offered him more opportunities and that's why he showed the differences between Mickey and Edward’s education and then in their careers as they grew up.

Carl: That makes sense. There is such a large gap between working and middle class families in Britain at this time. The Johnstone and the Lyons families really are stereotypes of that time. So many working class families struggled financially to find work during this time. And it's a class divided education too, which is shown by Edward attending a private boarding school and Mickey going to the local secondary school. Middle class families were also less affected by the unemployment rates, which widened the gap between Mickey and Edward even further.

Jean: There was a really interesting bit in the montage of the Margaret Thatcher years where we heard how she believed that everyone could be successful if they worked hard enough. But Russell uses Mickey's character to show us that that isn't true. We see him trying his best to get work and support his family. But he can't do it without the help of Edward, who has risen easily to a position of power thanks to his social class and opportunities.

Extract
Edward: Why … why is a job so important? If I couldn’t get a job I’d just say, sod it and draw the dole, live like a bohemian, tilt my hat to the world and say ‘screw you’. So you’re not working. Why is it so important?
Mickey: (looking at him) You don’t understand anythin’, do ye? I don’t wear a hat that I could tilt at the world.

Carl: It definitely feels like Willy Russell is writing about the time he was currently living in. The play is set a little bit earlier. It begins in the 1960s and follows the characters over the next two decades. The characters are representative of the time Willy was currently living in as though the whole thing was happening in 1981. Reflecting the different people and the class types around him, he's shining a light on something that he was probably seeing every single day.

Jean: And if we're talking about shining a light on things that were around him at the time, there was a famous name that's mentioned throughout the play.

Carl: I think we all know who that famous name is mentioned this point in time.

Archive
Man’s voice: Miss Monroe, it’s time!
Audience: (Chanting) Marilyn, Marilyn, Marilyn!
Marilyn Monroe: I think it just craved a little affection — you know, a sense of being loved and needed and wanted.
Marilyn Monroe: Why do they always look like unhappy rabbits?
Marilyn Monroe: But I'm not just generally happy. If I'm generally anything I guess I'm generally miserable. (Laughs)

Carl: Marilyn Monroe - she is mentioned a lot in Brothers. I mean a lot.

Jean: She does get a few name checks, doesn't she? And she's not necessarily from the time that Willie Russell was writing, but her legacy certainly lived on throughout this era.

Carl: Marilyn Monroe was a very famous Hollywood movie star for the 1950s. She was known for being a brilliant actress and being incredibly glamorous. But she also struggled with depression and died in 1962 aged only 36.

Jean: She was such an icon of the 20th century and even though into the 21st century, I think most of us would recognise an image of her. She was remembered not only for her incredible success, but also for her suffering at the same time, and I think we can see why Willie Russell chose to include her.

Carl: Yes, the way she's referred to changes as the play moves on. At first Mrs Johnstone is referring to how she was compared to Marilyn Monroe when she was younger. And she's talking about the glamorous version of Marilyn Monroe. And she represents the freedom and the sexiness, and someone that men, particularly Mr. Johnstone, desire.

Extract:
Mrs Johnstone (singing): We all had curly salmon sandwiches,
An’ how the ale did flow,
They said the bride was lovelier than Marilyn Monroe.
And we went dancing,
Yes, we went dancing.

Jean: As the play moves on, and the events become sadder and we're heading closer to the tragic ending, the references to Marilyn Monroe begin to represent her own early death and what's to come for the twins. We talked more about that in episode five too, if you need a refresher.

Extract:
Mrs Johnstone (singing): Tell me it’s not true,
Say it’s just a story.
Something on the news.
Tell me it’s not true.
Though it’s here before me,
Say it’s just a dream,
Say it’s just a scene
From an old movie of years ago,
From an old movie of Marilyn Monroe.

Carl: Marilyn Monroe's life spiralled out of control. She became dependent on prescription medication, and she unfortunately died of an overdose in her 30s. She is used in Blood Brothers towards the end of the play to symbolise Mickey's loss of control, and to foreshadow Mickey’s own early death. She is a reference point in the context of the time that Blood Brothers was released. Because in 1983, when Blood Brothers first went onstage, most people knew the story of Marilyn Monroe without it having to be explained.

Jean: It's definitely important to remember the context of when Blood Brothers was written, and what was going on at the time, it adds another layer to the key themes that Willie Russell discusses and makes them even more relevant to the time.

Carl: Indeed, I think it's really important for us to say that when you're talking about Mickey's depression, and dependence on antidepressants, that with the right support and treatment, most people can live rich, full lives. In fact, you’re listening to one of them talk right now. Hello, that'd be me.We definitely need to say that because this is a play, and it's been written to make an impact and tell a gripping story. So let's separate the fiction from real life at the moment.
Thank you for listening to episode seven of the Bitesize English literature podcast, and all about the context of Blood Brothers.

Jean: You can test what you've learned about Blood Brothers from this and all the other episodes in the Bitesize English literature podcast by heading to the final episode, the recap quiz and just a reminder that all the episodes are available to listen to on BBC Sounds.

Carl: We hope that this has been a helpful podcast for you and your revision. And if you really enjoyed it, please share it with your friends. Bitesize English literature podcast, listen on BBC sounds.

Carl: Hello, and welcome to the Bitesize English literature podcast. If you want to hear all the episodes in this podcast, make sure you download the BBC sounds app.

Jean: And don't forget that whilst you're in the BBC Sounds app, there's loads of other things you can use to help you with your revision. Free versions of some of the texts you might be studying, revision playlists and other Bitesize podcast series to help with different GCSE subjects. In this series, we've headed to Liverpool to discover Willy Russell's Blood Brothers. I'm Jean Menzies.

Carl: And I'm Carl Anka. And this is the moment of truth listener, because it's time to test our knowledge on Blood Brothers and everything we've learned so far.

Jean: Before we get started here, maybe grab a pen and some paper so you can make some notes if that's helpful. We'll cover subjects from across the episodes. So if there's any answers you're not sure of we'll be sure to let you know which episode that topic is in. So you can re-listen if you need to.

Carl: Are you ready Jean?

Jean: I think so.

Carl: We're going to take turns to ask questions about Blood Brothers. With some multiple choice answers we’re going to give you some time to answer the question and let you know you've got the correct one. Right. Okay, you ready to get started?

Jean: I'll give you the first question. What is the name of the twin who's brought up by Mrs Lyons? Is it Mickey? Edward or Sammy?

MUSIC

Jean: It's Edward, if you weren't sure on that answer, you can take a listen to episode one of the podcast again.

Carl: Okay, question number two. Before we begin, I want you to listen for this very short extract.

Extract
Narrator: So did y’ hear the story of the Johnstone twins?
As like each other as two new pins,
Of one womb born, on the selfsame day,
How one was kept and one given away?
An’ did you never hear how the Johnstones died,
Never knowing that they shared one name,
Till the day they died, when a mother cried
My own dear sons lie slain?

Carl: Okay, what is a key theme that is most prominent in this extract? Is it:

1. violence
2. superstition and fate
3. Social class and inequality

MUSIC

Carl: Two - is the correct answer - superstition and fate. This is the narrator telling the audience the fate of the Johnstone twins at the beginning of the story. It also merits a superstition that Mrs Lyons tells Mrs Johnstone about what will happen if the boys ever find out that twins. Look, I'm going to give you a bonus point if you said violence as well, because this extract does foreshadow the violence that occurs at the end of the play. And if you need a little bit more of a recap about those themes, well, you can head to episode four of this podcast.

Jean: Time for question number three. How is Mickey presented in the latter part of Act Two of the play? Is he:
Worn down by life's experiences and depressed?
Lazy and not wanting to work? Or…
Excited for the future?

MUSIC

Jean: Yes, unfortunately it is that he is depressed and worn down by his experiences of life. He's been to prison but he's struggling to get off his pills. No, he's out. And life isn't going his way. If you'd like a recap on this point of the play, then check out episode two of this podcast where we take a closer look at Mickey's character.

Carl: I've got another extract for you:

Extract
Mrs Johnstone: Oh God, Mrs Lyons, never put new shoes on a table … You never know what’ll happen.

Carl: Right then. That was Mrs Johnstone. So what does this extract teach Mrs Lyons about Mrs Johnstone? And how does Mrs Lyons use that to her advantage.
Option A - it teaches us that Mrs Johnstone is superstitious.
Option B - it tells us that Mrs Johnstone likes her new shoes.
Option C - it tells us that Mrs Johnstone has a smaller house than the Mrs Lyons.

MUSIC

Carl: the answer in fact is Option A, Mrs Johnstone superstitious. Now, how does Mrs Lyons play on that? Well, Mrs Lyons takes advantage of Mrs Johnstone's superstitions by planting something into Mrs Johnston's head, which is the idea that if the twins of Mickey and Edward ever find out that they are indeed blood related, they are going to die. Shock, horror! If you want to hear more about Mrs Johnstone and Mrs Lyons characters you can listen to episode three again.

Jean: Okay, I've got a good one:

Extract:
Mrs Johnstone: I said, I said, look, next week I’ll pay y’ –
Mrs Lyons: It’s a pretty house, isn’t it? It’s a pity it’s so big. I’m finding it rather large at present.

Jean: What do the differences between Mrs Johnston's way of speaking and Mrs Lyons way of speaking remind the audience of? Is it that…
Mrs Lyons has a husband and Mrs Johnston's has left her?
Or is it of their different social classes and therefore differing amounts of power?
Or is it that there is an age difference between the women?

MUSIC

Jean: The answer is they are different social classes and therefore have different amounts of power. In Mrs Johnston's dialogue, Russell uses abbreviation and phonetic spelling to represent her strong Liverpudlian accent. Mrs Lyons’ speech is written as being more typical of standard English, something historically associated with middle and upper classes. This is a reminder to the audience that Mrs Lyons is middle class. Mrs Johnstone is working class, meaning that Mrs Lyons has more financial and social power than Mrs Johnstone – it’s a theme that runs throughout Blood Brothers. And you can recap on the language used in Blood Brothers in Episode Five.

Carl: Right then. Listener quick question for you. How old are Mickey and Edward when they first meet as children?
Are they nine?
Are they seven?
Or are they 15?

MUSIC

Carl: They're seven years old when they first meet as children, making their way to becoming best friends. They realise they're born on the same day, and decide to become blood brothers. If you want to find out more. You can recap this in the plot episodes of this Podcast, episode one.

Jean: Okay, let's quiz you on some context.

Archive recordingFemale voice: Now that the election is over, may we get together and strive to serve and strengthen the country of which we're so proud to be a part?

Jean: Who was the prime minister at the time of Willy Russell writing Blood Brothers? And what is significant about this context? Was it…
Margaret Thatcher
John Major, or
Tony Blair?

MUSIC

Jean: The answer is Margaret Thatcher was prime minister at the time. Unemployment was at a very high rate with 2.5 million unemployed in 1981. And it particularly affected working class people in northern industrial areas like Liverpool, where Willy Russell himself was from. There's more on episode seven of the podcast where we discuss the context around Blood Brothers and when and where it was written.

Carl: Right, then it's me again, the final question of a quiz for you. How does Willy Russell describe how he wants the stage to be in the production notes of Blood Brothers? Is it…
A - with of loads of scene changes
B - with a bunch of props
C - neither and no cumbersome scene changes.

MUSIC

Carl: Have you got it? That's right, it's option C. Willy Russell said that the whole play should follow along easily and smoothly. With no cumbersome scene changes. He wanted the focus of Blood Brothers to be on the story, the characters and relationships and not busy scene changes and props and curtains and chandeliers and whatever. You can recap this in episode six of this podcast all about the dramatisation of Blood Brothers.

Jean: Well, I think that's the end of our recap quiz and of the series. Thanks for listening to the Bitesize English literature podcast all about Blood Brothers.

Carl: We hope you've enjoyed stepping inside Blood Brothers with us, hearing the words from the page and finding out more about the play. Now remember, you can listen back to any episode at any time on BBC Sounds if you need to.

Bitesize English literature podcast. Listen on BBC Sounds.