Plot Summary

Knowing the plot of Blood Brothers inside out is non-negotiable at GCSE. This lesson provides a detailed scene-by-scene breakdown, identifies key turning points, and maps the dramatic structure so you can write confidently about any moment in the play.

---

Dramatic Structure Overview

  Climax
  (Final scene: Mickey confronts
   Eddie; both die)
     /\
    /  \
   /    \       Falling Action
  /      \      (Act 2: Mickey's unemployment,
 /        \      depression, prison, pills)
/  Rising   \
/  Action    \
/ (Act 1-2:   \          Resolution
/ Separation,  \         (The truth is revealed;
/ childhood,    \         both twins die;
/ growing up)    \         Narrator's final address)
/                 \
--Exposition-------\----->
(Prologue: We learn
 the twins will die)

---

The Prologue

The play opens with the ending — the Narrator tells us that twin brothers, separated at birth, both died on the same day. Their bodies are laid on the stage.

"So did you hear the story of the Johnstone twins?"

This creates dramatic irony from the very first moment: the audience knows the tragic outcome before the story begins. Every joyful scene is undercut by our knowledge of what is to come.

Examiner's tip: The prologue is a crucial structural device. It transforms the play from a story of suspense ("what will happen?") into a tragedy of inevitability ("how will it happen?"). This mirrors the Greek tragic tradition where audiences knew the myths in advance.

---

Act 1: Childhood

Mrs Johnstone's Introduction

Mrs Johnstone is introduced as a warm, loving, but desperately poor single mother. She was married young, had many children, and was abandoned by her husband when he left for another woman.

"We went dancing... he said I was sexier than Marilyn Monroe"

The Marilyn Monroe motif recurs throughout the play. Mrs Johnstone compares herself to Marilyn — a glamorous icon who also had a tragic life. This foreshadows Mrs Johnstone's own suffering.

She works as a cleaner for Mrs Lyons, a wealthy but childless woman.

The Pact

When Mrs Johnstone discovers she is pregnant with twins and cannot afford to keep both, Mrs Lyons persuades her to give up one baby.

Mrs Lyons exploits Mrs Johnstone's superstitious nature by telling her:

"They say... that if either twin was to learn that he was one of a pair, they shall both immediately die"

Mrs Johnstone, terrified, agrees to the pact. This moment is the inciting incident — it sets the entire tragedy in motion.

Character	Motivation	Power Dynamic
Mrs Johnstone	Cannot afford another child; believes the superstition	Powerless — working class
Mrs Lyons	Desperately wants a child; manipulates Mrs Johnstone	Powerful — middle class

The Children Grow Up (Age 7)

Mickey (raised by Mrs Johnstone) and Eddie (raised by Mrs Lyons) meet by chance and become best friends without knowing they are twins. They perform a blood brothers ceremony — cutting their hands and mixing blood to become "brothers."

"I will always defend my brother"

The irony is devastating: they already are brothers.

Russell uses the children's innocence to highlight class differences that the boys themselves do not yet understand:

Mickey (Working Class)	Eddie (Middle Class)
Scruffy clothes, hand-me-downs	Smart, clean, well-dressed
Plays in the street	Has a garden and toys
Uses swear words without knowing meanings	Finds swear words exotic and exciting
Already streetwise and tough	Naive and sheltered
Limited vocabulary	Articulate and confident

Mrs Lyons's Growing Paranoia

Mrs Lyons becomes increasingly paranoid that Mrs Johnstone will reveal the truth. She:

• Fires Mrs Johnstone from her cleaning job.
• Attempts to bribe her to stay away.
• Becomes possessive and controlling of Eddie.

"You're always looking at him... giving him things"

Mrs Lyons's paranoia escalates throughout the play. Russell uses her to show that wealth does not bring happiness or security — her fear of losing Eddie consumes her.

The Move to the Country

The Johnstone family is relocated from their inner-city Liverpool home to a new town in the countryside (based on Skelmersdale). This reflects the real slum clearances of the 1960s and 1970s.

At first, the move seems positive — Mrs Johnstone sings of hope and new beginnings. But the audience, knowing the prologue, understands that this hope is fragile.

---

Act 2: Growing Up and Growing Apart

Teenage Years

Mickey and Eddie are reunited as teenagers. They are still friends, but class differences are now becoming more visible:

Mickey (14)	Eddie (14)
Attending the local comprehensive school	Attending a private boarding school
Awkward, tongue-tied around Linda	Confident, articulate, charming
Already aware of limited prospects	Has a clear path to university
Wears cheap clothes	Wears expensive clothes

Both boys are attracted to Linda, who has been part of their friendship group since childhood. This creates a love triangle that will become central to the tragedy.

Eddie Goes to University

Eddie leaves for university — an opportunity that is simply not available to Mickey. This is the moment when their paths permanently diverge.

Examiner's tip: The university scene is a key moment for discussing class inequality. Eddie's access to higher education is entirely due to his upbringing — not his ability. Mickey is equally intelligent but never had the same opportunities. This is Russell's central argument: class, not talent, determines life outcomes.

Mickey and Linda's Relationship

Mickey and Linda get together and soon discover Linda is pregnant. They marry quickly. Mickey gets a job at a factory — but it is low-paid, monotonous work.

Unemployment and Despair

Mickey is laid off from his factory job during the recession. He cannot find work. The stage directions describe him as increasingly desperate and depressed.

Russell uses Mickey's unemployment to dramatise the real impact of Thatcher's economic policies on working-class communities. Mickey is not lazy or undeserving — he is a victim of economic forces beyond his control.

Sammy's Crime and Mickey's Imprisonment

Mickey's brother Sammy persuades him to act as lookout during an armed robbery. The robbery goes wrong, and Mickey is arrested and sent to prison.

In prison, Mickey is prescribed antidepressants. When he is released, he is dependent on the pills and emotionally numb. He cannot connect with Linda or engage with life.

"I need... I need them... I can't cope without..."

Linda and Eddie

While Mickey is in prison and then struggling with depression, Linda turns to Eddie for help. Eddie, now a successful councillor, helps Linda with housing and support. Their relationship deepens, though the play leaves the exact nature ambiguous.

Mickey discovers that Linda has been seeing Eddie. His sense of betrayal is total — his blood brother has taken his wife, his dignity, and everything he has left.

---

The Final Scene

Mickey confronts Eddie with a gun (Sammy's gun from the robbery). He is wild with grief and rage.

Mrs Johnstone rushes in and, in desperation, reveals the truth:

"Mickey... don't shoot Eddie... He's your brother... You're twins!"

Rather than calming Mickey, this revelation destroys him. He cries:

"Why didn't you give me away? ... I could have been him!"

A shot is fired. Police marksmen shoot Mickey. Eddie also dies. The twins are laid together — united in death as they were at birth.

The Narrator delivers the final lines, asking whether it was superstition or class that killed them:

"And do we blame superstition for what came to pass? Or could it be what we, the English, have come to know as class?"

---

Key Turning Points