Willy Russell created a masterpiece in Blood Brothers: a deceptively simple tale of two brothers separated at birth.

Lyn Paul was superb as Mrs Johnstone, the boys' mother. By the end of the first musical number we knew of her struggle to make ends meet due to her numerous offspring. We learned that when her husband decided to leave her she was once again pregnant. Gaining employment from Mr and Mrs Lyons (Tim Churchill and Paula Tappenden) Mrs Johnstone started to claw her way to a better life. However the last pregnancy proved a tragic blow - Mrs Johnstone was carrying twins. Wealthy Mrs Lyons, desperate for a child of her own persuades Mrs Johnstone to part with one of her babies.

The brothers Mickey (Sean Jones) and Eddie (Joel Benedict) were a delight, as we watched them grow from the age of seven right through to adulthood, and their childhood friend Linda, played by Danielle Corlass, became the unknowing catalyst to the inevitable ending.

Fun sketches revealed the contrasting lives of two classes of people through the budding friendship formed between the twins. Mickey as a child was the driving force of the friendship, which made his subsequent downfall and depression all the sadder. He provided a quirky, likeable performance. Eddie too was agreeable. The twin who was adopted by the rich Mrs Lyons didn't have it easy, having to put up with his adoptive mother's mental health issues, all the while unaware that he was adopted at birth.

And amidst it all the narrator (Kristofer Harding) weaved his way through the story, creating a strange tension with his pre-paving of events. Harding had a wonderful singing voice, strong and clear, and gave a charismatic performance. It had an almost sinister quality as he moved amongst the cast like the finger of fate readying itself to point out disaster.

The set was excellent, and the scenes clearly showed where we were supposed to be at any given time. The council building was laughably accurate.

In the final scene, the singing rose to such a crescendo and Lyn Paul's poignancy and wretchedness was so vivid that I was moved to tears.

The musical received a well-deserved standing ovation, and several curtain calls for providing such a stunning performance. It was a wonderful evening where we were lucky enough to witness acting at its finest.