Blood Brothers: A play of privilege, poverty and lighthearted profanity that will truly break your heart

It is a play bookended with tragedy that pulls at the heartstrings but not without making you hearty laugh with stories in between.

Blood Brothers is a show that highlights many issues still prevalent in our society today; privilege, poverty, prejudice.

It follows the tale of two twins, tragically separated at birth as their mother could not afford to feed both.

Their lives take very different paths, filled with very different opportunities, but their tales never stop intertwining despite both brothers being unaware that they are twins.

The opening scene prepares you for the end, in a literal sense; nothing can prepare you emotionally.

The instant standing ovation from the Derry audience at the Forum's opening night was a mirror of the outstanding performance from every single soul on stage.

The show premiered in 1988, but the impact is as profound as ever in 2023.

The genius character building and representation, the crude jokes, the drops of profanity; it makes the characters all the more relatable.

I had heard of the story, I had given it a quick google prior to attending, just to familiarise myself with the storyline.

I entered the theatre intrigued and with the jist of a successful storyline.

I left the theatre with tears in my eyes and heart both broken and touched.

The cast bring all stages of life and all walks of life directly into your own life and within minutes the copious amount of awards make perfect sense.

I may never fully recover from the final scene but a lasting impact like that is one worth recommending.