Blood Brothers

The cast of Blood Brothers. Photo/George Novak

Stage show Blood Brothers appealed to director Toni Henderson as there is some serious "twinning" going on in their family.

The Stage Right trustee has an identical twin sister. Toni's father was a twin and she has twin children - a boy and girl. Son Matt plays plays twin Mickey in Blood Brothers.

Stage Right is a newly established amateur theatre in Tauranga, dedicated to mostly musical theatre but not exclusive to, Toni says.

The award-winning musical Blood Brothers was on their bucket list to do. It's about a mother with a number of children who finds herself pregnant yet again. She make the momentous decision to keep one baby and give the other away.

The story follows the boys as they grow up, set in Liverpool starting from the 1960s. The separated twins grow up streets apart never knowing the truth about each other - one lives a life of affluence - and they become firm friends when their paths cross later in life.

Adults play the children, which adds to the humour, Toni says.

"The first half of the show is actually really funny and then gets a bit serious and it's tissue time," Toni says. "You could sort of describe it as a rollercoaster of emotions."

Toni says the new theatre group are thrilled to be doing the shows they have always wanted to do.

Toni has an affinity to Blood Brothers because of the twin connection.

The two other main characters are Mrs Johnstone (played by Petrina Chisholm) and Chris Triall is the narrator. The playwright is Willy Russell, known for Educating Rita.

Blood Brothers stage production. L-R Matt Henderson, Matt Glover. Photo/George NOvak

"It's an awesome story and you really buy into it and get involved with the characters and the storylines. The music is by Murray Mason our band leader - there is a strong nine piece band with this story which was handpicked for show."

the fine print
What: Blood Brothers by Stage Right
Where: Baycourt X Space
When: December 2-9

Stage Right Trust is new to the local amateur theatre scene but its crew has been entrenched in Tauranga theatre for decades. There is a core group of 20-30 musically inclined thespians and those who help behind the scenes. "We are all there for the passion of theatre," trustee Toni Henderson says. Stage Right provides another opportunity to perform for Tauranga's growing audiences. "We are able to do the shows that we want to do. Tauranga is growing hugely and we think there is plenty of room for another amateur theatre company - we compliment the others. We all work with the other groups ... we have provided more performance opportunities for people wanting to be involved." Next year Stage Right will do Shrek. They have no fixed abode for each show. The trustees are Toni, Laura Mansell and Alec Were.