Blood Brothers ran for 24 years at the West End, and played more than 10,000 performances, becoming the third longest-running musical production in West End history. The West End revival closed in November 2012.

Willy Russell originally wrote and presented Blood Brothers as a school play in 1982, later developing it into a musical for a production at the Liverpool Playhouse in 1983. At the time it was only a modest success. Nevertheless, the show transferred to London's West End on 11 April 1983 at the Lyric Theatre and ran until 22 October 1983, winning the Olivier Award for Best New Musical. The story is an updated version of the 1844 novella The Corsican Brothers by Alexander Dumas.

Around the beginning of the 1960s, Mrs Johnstone is deep in debt and cannot support her seven children after her husband walks out on her, so she takes a job as a cleaner for a wealthy local couple, Mr and Mrs Lyons. Soon she finds out she is pregnant but she can barely afford to raise the child. Mrs Lyons is desperate for a baby but is unable to conceive, and would like to adopt a child but her husband does not agree. Mrs Johnstone finds out that in fact she is going to have twins. Mrs Lyons then suggests that she gives one of the babies to her. Mrs Johnstone apprehensively agrees to this while Mrs Lyons takes advantage of Mrs Johnstone’s superstitious beliefs.

Years later, Mickey meets Edward, the  twin that was given away, and the two boys make a pact to become ‘blood brothers’. Both families move house thinking they would never meet again but fate has different plans.

Would Mrs Lyons's superstitious prediction come true? The Narrator questions whether class was more to blame than superstition. Along the years the media has classified this musical in many terms, but perhaps the most appropriate is Artslink’s quote ‘A human drama that will touch the soul’.

Atturi Salesjani will be performing this great musical at the Salesian Theatre in Sliema on the 17 and 18 May at 7.30pm. It is Atturi’s first musical production in the English language. Direction is in the hands of Lino Ferris while Norma Camilleri is the voice coach. As opposed to West End productions where some actors play more than one role, Mr Ferris opted to cast different actors to portray the various characters building up the story.

The cast is hence larger than the original version. In fact we see young actors Julian Cachia and Nikolai Azzopardi playing the twin brothers when they were kids and Andrew Barberi and Gianni Selvaggi performing the grown up blood brothers! Other leading roles are performed by Norma Camilleri (Mrs Johnstone), Claudia Azzopardi Frendo (Mrs Lyons) and John Frendo and Emanuel Spiteri as the Narrator.   Booking online: www.ticketline.com.mt or www.teatrusalesjan.com.

Free parking is available at the Salesian grounds during both performances.