Blood Brothers: Narrator Robbie Scotcher says Glasgow has ‘best audiences in the UK’

The famous production, which tells the story of twins, separated at birth, growing up on opposite sides of the track, only to meet again with fateful consequences, started at the King’s Theatre on Tuesday.

It will be staying in Glasgow until Saturday, before moving to Edinburgh as the UK tour continues.

Robbie Scotcher, who has a wealth of experience having performed on stages across the UK, said the first few nights in Glasgow had been “great”, and said the city had lived up to its reputation among actors as having the “best audiences in the UK”.

The production has now been running for six weeks and has had packed audiences, which surprised Robbie.

“It’s been great being back on stage,” he said. “It was a weird period being sat at home, not sure if my job would be coming back.

“I worked at Aldi (during the lockdown). I like working and having a structure to the day, and it was good fun working at Aldi. But it’s good to be back.

“The first few weeks, it wasn’t really that busy. Then we started to sell out shows. It’s been busy in Glasgow.”

The cast had been on route to Coventry when they were told to go home because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

After 18 months away, the show had been due to open in Plymouth in early August. However, that was the day of the Plymouth shootings, when five people were killed in a six-minute spree.

The producers decided to postpone the opening - a decision supported by Robbie.

Now that the show has returned, Robbie said audiences seem “thankful” that the theatre is back.

“Theatre is so important to a lot of people,” he added. “It’s a shared experience. People always ask me about doing the same show again and again, but no two shows are the same. What is going on in that room, at that time - that’s different.”

Robbie has a unique role in the show, acting as the narrator. He admits it is a different type of challenge than he is used to.

“I don’t talk to the other characters, I don’t have scenes with other people,” he said. “I talk to the audience. It’s very Shakespearean and breaking the fourth wall. It’s very different. No one knows who the narrator is - people think he might be the conscience, or a satan-type figure, which is fun to play with.

“To walk out in front of thousands of people and say that I have a story for them, it has a very old feel to it.”

With just a few shows left, people in Glasgow do not have long to buy their tickets and go see Blood Brothers. Robbie explained why people should choose that show.

“It’s an amazing story,” he said. “That’s what sets it apart and part of the reason it has lasted such a long time. It’ll make you laugh and make you cry.”

To buy tickets for Blood Brothers, visit atgtickets.com.