Blood Brothers is touring the UK across Autumn 2026 and Spring 2027, with Willy Russell’s long-running musical returning to theatres around the country. This guide keeps the current tour in one place while preserving Clarissa’s Corner’s earlier Blood Brothers review as historical coverage rather than rewriting it.
Blood Brothers 2026–27 at a glance
- Written by: Willy Russell
- Directed by: Bob Tomson and Bill Kenwright
- Running time: approximately 2 hours 45 minutes including interval
- Autumn 2026 lead cast: Vivienne Carlyle, Sean Jones and Joe Sleight
- Spring 2027 casting: to be announced
Autumn 2026 cast
Vivienne Carlyle plays Mrs Johnstone, with Sean Jones as Mickey and Joe Sleight as Eddie. Kristofer Harding plays the Narrator through the Chester dates before Richard Munday takes over from Birmingham to Northampton.
The company also includes Tricia Adele Turner as Mrs Lyons, Beth Danher as Linda, Jamil Abbasi, Sarah Moss, Amelia Poggenpoel and Jack Anthony Smart, with Tim Churchill, Michael Gillette, Alex Harland and Graeme Kinniburgh returning to the production.
Dartford — The Orchard Theatre
26–30 January 2027
The Orchard Theatre currently lists Blood Brothers from Tuesday 26 to Saturday 30 January 2027, with tickets from £24.50. The venue has recently reopened following refurbishment and now includes a lift and improved accessibility.
Orchard Theatre’s published access information confirms ramped access, accessible toilets, wheelchair spaces with adjacent personal-assistant seating, hearing systems and selected captioned, audio-described, relaxed and sign-interpreted performances across its programme. Check the specific Blood Brothers performance before booking if you need a particular access service.
Check Blood Brothers at Orchard Theatre.
Croydon — Fairfield Halls
27 April–1 May 2027
Blood Brothers plays the Ashcroft Theatre at Fairfield Halls from Tuesday 27 April to Saturday 1 May 2027. Current standard tickets are advertised from £19.50, with separate group and schools offers subject to the venue’s conditions.
Fairfield Halls confirms step-free access via lifts, dedicated wheelchair spaces, accessible toilets including a Changing Places facility, an infrared amplification system and an Access Scheme that may provide a complimentary personal-assistant ticket for eligible customers, subject to availability.
Check Blood Brothers at Fairfield Halls.
Autumn 2026 tour
- Oxford Playhouse — 23–26 September 2026
- Chelmsford Theatre — 29 September–3 October 2026
- Grimsby Auditorium — 6–10 October 2026
- Storyhouse, Chester — 13–17 October 2026
- Birmingham Hippodrome — 20–24 October 2026
- Curve, Leicester — 27–31 October 2026
- The Hawth, Crawley — 10–14 November 2026
- Malvern Theatres — 17–21 November 2026
- Royal & Derngate, Northampton — 24–28 November 2026
Spring 2027 tour
- Cliffs Pavilion, Southend — 12–16 January
- Mayflower Theatre, Southampton — 19–23 January
- Orchard Theatre, Dartford — 26–30 January
- Sheffield Lyceum — 2–6 February
- Floral Pavilion, New Brighton — 9–13 February
- Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff — 16–20 February
- Congress Theatre, Eastbourne — 23–27 February
- Woking Theatre — 2–6 March
- Winter Gardens, Blackpool — 9–13 March
- Norwich Theatre Royal — 16–20 March
- Billingham Forum Theatre — 23–27 March
- Embassy Theatre, Skegness — 31 March–3 April
- Princess Theatre, Torquay — 6–10 April
- Palace Theatre, Manchester — 13–24 April
- Fairfield Halls, Croydon — 27 April–1 May
- Theatre Royal Bath — 4–8 May
- Leeds Grand Theatre — 11–15 May
- Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury — 18–22 May
Tour schedules can change. Venue booking pages remain the source of truth for each performance, price and access service.
What is Blood Brothers about?
Willy Russell’s musical follows twins Mickey and Eddie, separated at birth and brought up in very different circumstances. Their lives repeatedly cross as the story explores class, inequality, family, friendship, superstition and fate.
Clarissa’s Corner Blood Brothers archive
This is a new tour-planning guide. For my earlier experience of the show, read the Blood Brothers review from the Churchill Theatre. That older review and its photographs remain part of the site’s historical theatre archive and are not being presented as images of the 2026 company.
Production images
New Autumn 2026 production photography has been supplied by the production and is credited to Jack Merriman. Current-company images will only be added once the exact files and usage details are safely matched; older 2016 and 2023 photographs will not be reused as current-company photography.
