“I just love the part. I mean how do you beat playing Mickey in Blood Brothers? It’s a privilege and a pleasure,” Sean Jones says.
Yes, Bill Kenwright’s legendary, award-winning smash hit musical is back at Oxford Playhouse (September 22-26) after a three year hiatus READ OUR REVIEW HERE, to relay the moving tale of twins Mickey and Eddie ,who are separated at birth and grow up on opposite sides of the tracks, only to meet again with tragic consequences.
‘don’t get too comfortable because sometimes people jump so high in their seats it’s hard to gather yourself on stage’
Still packing out theatres across the country, it’s Oxford’s turn next and Sean, for one, can’t wait: “There is nothing like a Blood Brothers audience. They give us standing ovations every night but we never take that for granted. But it does mean there is a huge level of expectation so we have it drilled into us not to take our foot off the gas and to keep ramping it up.”
Having starred in Blood Brothers on-and-off for 25 years, Sean knows what he’s talking about, and still revels in the audience’s reaction to the famous musical.
T’he older I get the more layers I find. It’s like peeling an onion. I’m still finding new things to explore. Blood Brothers is a gift that keeps on giving’
“The older I get the more layers I find. It’s like peeling an onion. I’m still finding new things to explore. Blood Brothers is a gift that keeps on giving,” he says. “So I can have a nod and wink with the audience and make them laugh, and then for the last half an hour we change tack and completely pull the rug from under the audience’s feet.”
“But before you cry you will laugh for an hour and a half. We make people forget that tragedy is coming. Just don’t get too comfortable because sometimes people jump so high in their seats it’s hard to gather yourself on stage.
‘before you cry you will laugh for an hour and a half’
“That’s why I love watching our audience, because Blood Brothers is often people’s first experience of theatre. It’s on the school curriculum and we get a lot of young people, some from deprived backgrounds, and we take them away from everything. By the end they are on their feet crying and telling their teachers how amazing it was.
“So we have to honour the journey Micky then goes on, and it’s an experience we enter into together. Yes, there is a huge amount of pain, grief and family angst in the show, but then everyone can relate to that in some way and it really resonates with people.”
Is that what gives Blood Brothers its longevity? “It’s lightning in a bottle,” he grins, “plus Willy Russell is a genius, so for me, the key is to keep it fresh.”
‘Willy Russell is a genius, so for me, the key is to keep it fresh’
Mickey also really resonates with Sean and he says they have a lot of similarities: “I was expelled from school and a bit of a street urchin in the 70s – I was quite feral until I discovered acting. But equally my father was a psychiatric nurse, so I was inadvertently immersed in a world of mental health from a young age,” he explains.
Growing up in North Wales, it wasn’t until Sean joined a local youth theatre, that he finally found his calling. “Everyone there wanted to go to drama school, which I didn’t know was a thing. So I auditioned and got into Guildhall School of Music & Drama and found my tribe. I had no idea Id’ got into one of the best drama schools in the country (alongside the likes of Daniel Craig and Damian Lewis). I had no idea how lucky I was,” he reflects.
‘I never take it for granted because there are very few shows like Blood Brothers. It’s the perfect rollercoaster’
“I often ask myself what they saw in me, but I love playing to the gallery or being the class clown. I’ve made a career out of it. But Guildhall taught me how to switch that off when I needed to. So Blood Brothers is perfect because I can have a nod and wink with the audience and then for the last half and hour change tack.
“I get to be a mini me on stage and have fun with the part because I feel safe on stage and never feel nervous. I’m like a kid in a candy store. So I never take it for granted because there are very few shows like Blood Brothers. It’s the perfect rollercoaster.”
BLOOD BROTHERS, Oxford Playhouse, September 22-26. https://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/events/blood-brothers
